Moping Melancholy Mad
by Jjah-Jjah
Summary: In every story in which Sesshoumaru survives to modern times, he is always rich and well off, but this story is different. Surely a creature as mundane as hope can't be that hard to capture.(SessKag)
1. Walking Over Graves

It is I, Jjah-Jjah! And yes, I should be working on my other stories, but what the hey? This is summer and I have time to tinker around...  
  
Alrighty then, this is my first foray, so to speak, into the realm of Inuyasha. And just so you know, this is a Sesshoumaru/Kagome fic. To those of you who look for things to complain about, I have nothing against Inuyasha/Kagome pairings, it's just they always seem to be about the same thing. (ie boring) If you want me to, I'll write an Inu/Kag just to prove I'm not sacrilegious or anything...  
  
That out of the way, just so you know, this story's going to be a little bit weird. It's inspired by a poem called "Terence, this is stupid stuff" by A.E. Housman. This fic's title is a line from it. It's a about a guy who is asking his friend, Terence, why he writes such depressing poetry. Terence goes on to explain that he writes it because he's trying to help people survive in the real world, which really sucks. He then goes on to cite an example, about a king who whose friends tried to poison him. However, the king was so used to the cruelties of the world, that the poison had no effect...  
  
Moving on. Here's the disclaimer.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, I forget who does... Oh well...  
  
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"Then I saw the morning sky:

Heigho, the tale was all a lie;

The world, it was the old world yet

I was I, my things were wet, And nothing more remained to do

But begin the game anew."

--- A.E. Housman

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Chapter One: Walking Over Graves  
  
She stood; she watched; she was puzzled.  
  
It was dark; the darkest of night. All tenacious vestiges of twilight were long gone, but why then was the sky red?  
  
Well, not the whole sky; just a small section of the horizon that clung to color. It was strange, that redness. Somehow it wasn't normal. Yet any normal person would simply say that it was some kind of phenomena caused by the sun reflecting off the moon or debris in the atmosphere that made the sunset linger longer that usual. So simple an explanation: it was at the horizon after all. That was where sunsets happened, so what else could it be but a sunset?  
  
But if it was sunset, then why was it not in the west where the sun went down, but in the north?  
  
Kagome sighed and shivered and wrapped her arms around herself for warmth. Though summer, it was suddenly cool, prophesizing the coming of a thunderstorm. Why was she mooning over such silly things? She should be happy: Naraku was defeated and all was well with the world. Tall grasses tapped against her bare knees as she stood on the zenith of the secluded hill. She had come for a breath of fresh air; a temporary break from all the merriment. The humble village that would be Tokyo was in the midst of a great celebration.  
  
The Jewel of Four Souls nestled into the hollow of her throat even as she thought about it. Absently, she brushed against it with her fingertips and wondered about what would come. She would always stay with Inuyasha, of course, but what else did the future hold now that the cursed jewel was complete? Sighing, she looked once more at the strange red stain in the sky and then turned and started back to the village.  
  
It was then that an unusually chilly wind suddenly raced down from the sky and zipped past her. Kagome's skirt blew up briefly at the wind's passing and she froze, suddenly feeling as if someone had walked over her grave.  
  
"Oh no. Kikyo..." She hissed. She knew the feeling all to well and now that she was aware of it, the dead aura was even more oppressive. She knew that if Kikyo was so close to the village, then there was no way that Inuyasha had not already caught her scent. Bolstered by the thought, she rushed towards the aura's source, well aware that her bow and arrows were in the opposite direction. The only thought in her mind was worry for Inuyasha...  
  
Several minutes later she came to a halt on the outskirts of a clearing in which Inuyasha and Kikyo stood facing one another.  
  
"What's going on? Inuyasha?"  
  
They continued to stand there looking at one another, the wind blowing their clothes, and an unidentifiable emotion on their faces that was not love, but neither was it hate. Kagome took a few more steps forward till she stood a few mere feet from them.  
  
"Inuyasha? Are you alright?"  
  
The Hanyou inclined his head slightly towards her and she could see by the flash of his eyes through his hair blowing across his face that he was watching her. That emotion in his eyes. Was that acceptance?  
  
"Kagome."  
  
That word: her name; a word that always came so hard from his lips should have overjoyed her, but somehow she knew that there would be no happy ending.  
  
"I can't break my promises. I don't want to hurt you, but... I must go with Kikyo... I can't just forget..."  
  
Time seemed to stop. The wind blew more slowly, and the sounds of Miroku, Sango, and Shippo approaching seemed surreal and far, far off.  
  
"Inuyasha?"  
  
The storm broke and rain fell down so quickly that she was immediately soaked to the bone.  
  
"I can't just pretend that it didn't happen..."  
  
But that was all she heard. It was then that she realized that time really was stopping. The ground beneath her feet fell apart like drying leaves. She fell slowly and in the silence things began to fade. She swung her head around to see her friends looking at her in horror; then she looked back to see the terror stricken face of Inuyasha as he dove forward in a last ditch effort to save her. His transparent hand passed right through her own and then he was gone; faded to gray.  
  
She was in the well, sounds of the city loud in her ears after the complete silence. She looked up and saw the roof of the well house above and let out an earsplitting wail that carried and echoed in her ears...  
  
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Blinking rapidly to dispel the tears, Kagome shot up off the couch where she had dozed off. The movie she had been watching had ended long ago and the static screen emitted the only light in the room. She had been having the nightmares for so long now, reliving that night she disappeared from the Feudal Era. From that day on, the well had stopped working and everything went on as normal. The only proof she had that it was all not some crazy dream, was the Shikon no Tama, which still hung round her neck. It whispered to her of days long gone and fantastic marvels that no longer existed.  
  
Kagome pulled herself into an upright position and stared at the snowy TV screen for a moment before she realized that the sensation of being wet from her dream was quite real.  
  
"Oh shit!"  
  
The entire living room floor was covered in about an inch of water. She fumbled, trying to find the light switch and once the lights were on, she followed the trail into the kitchen. The new dishwasher was spewing out water like a surfacing whale. Bravely, she dove towards the contraption, alternating between frantically pushing buttons and swearing furiously. Inuyasha would have been proud. Finally, fifteen minutes or so later, after completely soaking herself and slipping and falling several times, Kagome managed to confirm that there was indeed a way to turn the water off. She plopped down in the standing water with a squish and brandished the wrench she had used to turn the water valve absently.  
  
"This sucks." She murmured. Then she smiled and stood.  
  
She opened the door that led outside and with a mop, managed to push a great deal of the water out. It looked as if the kitchen was mostly unharmed, but she was more worried about the living room. The carpet was more than likely ruined. Methodically she went through the motions of cleaning up all the water. She mopped for quite some time. Her shoulders began to ache and she became mesmerized by the mop's motion. She began to muse silently over her situation.  
  
The past. Everything she said and did was somehow dogged by it. She could not let go. Even as she got used to the ins and outs of modern life again, something was always strange... It would have made more sense for something to be missing: a gaping hole in her soul that would consume her, but no such thing was there. Instead of the rending pain she expected, the feeling of dissociation, she instead felt simply that she had fallen into a niche different from what she had once occupied. It wasn't that she longer had a place, it was that she had changed and so had the world... Now when she walked down the street, she no longer saw things as others did. She did not see merely the waste, the buildings, the thousands of people, all the urban wonders... Now she saw the trees, the little bits of green nature that dotted the concrete landscape like rays of light in darkness. She saw the buildings that were truly ancient, the tantalizing glimpses of the old world, the hints that what was once there was not completely gone. She had become a part of that. She could see it.  
  
Grandpa had been overjoyed when she expressed the desire to be a miko. It seemed right to continue what had made her so important back in the Feudal Era. Of course, it had been nearly impossible to convince him that she already was a miko and didn't need any useless lessons, but some of the "rules of etiquette" were nice to know... However, not wanting to halt her education, she had also begun taking some classes at the local university. Her goal was to get a degree in mythology and Feudal Era Japanese culture. For once in her life, she didn't have to struggle with school work.  
  
Kagome halted her thoughts to move the couch and all the furniture out of the living room so that she could roll up the soaking carpet.  
  
She really was stuck in the past... Often she though of her friends, and how they might have ended up. Had Miroku and Sango finally admitted to their obvious feelings for one another? What ever had happened to Shippo? Had Kouga given it a rest and married Ayame? And Inuyasha.  
  
She could not help but wonder about Inuyasha. He had looked so panic stricken when she had gone. Had he gone to hell with Kikyo after she left? Or had he come to his senses once she was gone and declared that he had always loved her, that he would never rest till they were together again? The thought had entered her head many times, and she knew that it wasn't true. She just knew.  
  
It was summer and she had no classes. Despite the season, it was unusually cold. Irony was a nearly living thing. A storm was coming, just as one had been in her dream. Kagome shivered in her wet clothes as she tried to drag the heavy carpet out the back door. If anyone else had been there she would have had some help, but she was alone. Her mother was on a well deserved vacation in Hawaii. After all the crap she had had to put up with during the entire Feudal Era ordeal, the woman certainly needed the rest. In a last ditch effort to pry him away from his video games, Souta had been shipped off to camp. (She had secretly enjoyed that.) Grandpa had been going to stick around, but as soon as her mother left, he started going on about how he was going to do sacred shrine-keeper stuff with some old buddies while mumbling something about Vegas and disappeared...  
  
The soggy carpet tumbled to a halt a few feet from the backdoor and lay there like a dead crocodile. Kagome glared at her foe while breathing heavily as thunder rumbled in the distance.  
  
"You'd better stay right there!" She admonished the floor covering and slammed the door. The rain started.  
  
She had most of the water up, so she went over everything with a towel. Finally everything was dry. She looked down at her clothes. Well, everything but herself... Yawning, Kagome trudged upstairs to take a quick shower before she went to bed. Tomorrow she had a lot to do. She would need to tidy up the shrine, as there likely would be leaves everywhere after the storm, she needed to return the movies she had rented, and she needed to call up the place they had bought that dishwasher from and get them to bring a new one. Luckily it was till under warranty. She also needed to go grocery shopping at some point, but that could wait.  
  
Lightning illuminated the hallway for a brief moment. Everything seemed surreal in her tired state and in that moment she had never felt so alone. She stood dripping all over the floor and mutely wondered about that far flung past and what she wouldn't give to have the briefest glimpse of its wonders again. She would give anything; she was drawn to the concept like an addict to a drug. If only she could touch on that glorious time again, maybe her heart would stop aching...  
  
If only, if only, if only...  
  
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The acrid sound of the alarm clock going off pierced the serenity of the morning. Groggily, Kagome slapped at the snooze button for several minutes before realizing that she had been hitting the button all the time with no result. With a vicious snarl she batted the clock off her bedside table, making it smack against the wall leaving a small dent. The sleepy miko then dragged herself out of bed and headed to the bathroom.  
  
A while later, Kagome emerged towel drying her hair. She trudged over to the window and looked out over the shrine grounds. Just as she had predicted leaves were everywhere. It took only a few moments to find her priestesses outfit. She had started wearing it ever since she began working at the shrine. The traditional colors, of course, were red and white, but she refused to wear something so similar to Kikyo's garb. She instead had opted for the same colors her grandfather wore, a white haori and pale blue hakama. She got dressed and brushed out her hair a bit before going downstairs and finding some breakfast.  
  
Deciding on some frozen waffles, she popped them into the toaster and took the time to call up the dishwasher people and rant until they popped out. She drank a glass of orange juice with the waffles, and then headed outside when she was done, slipping her plain geta sandals on by the door.  
  
The day began with more abuse of the rug. After the previous night's rain of course, it was ten times soggier and heavier than before. Thus, Kagome set out lugging the thing towards the stairs. Once she arrived, the rug moved a quite satisfying distance with a good kick. If anyone was watching it was probably an odd sight: a miko, in modern-day Japan, gleefully kicking a rolled up tan rug down the stairs of her shrine... When the rug finally ended up on the curb, ready for the garbage man, Kagome stood there for a moment catching her breath. An elderly couple passed by and bowed respectfully once they saw her traditional miko clothing.  
  
"It's awfully strange." She said aloud to herself once they had gone. "That they probably all think that I'm some kind of strict traditionalist when the exact opposite is true..." They didn't know that she was stuck in the past. They also didn't know that underneath her traditional socks her toenails were painted bright green. With a amused sigh, Kagome went back up the stairs and began sweeping.  
  
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Fortunately, the grounds were tidied up enough for her liking around lunch-time. Unfortunately, the sky was darkening up again and it looked as if another storm was on its way to mock her by throwing all the evil leaves back... Indeed these were trying times. She had taken the time to call up the dishwasher people again and they were going to install a new dishwasher tomorrow.  
  
Kagome sat at the kitchen table and picked at the leftover udon she had found in the refrigerator. She still needed to go return the damn videos she had rented before the store closed. For a moment, she rested her head on the table and heard the strange noises she had been hearing for quite a while. She had decided that they were probably mice.  
  
"Hey, almighty hunter!" She yelled towards the furry blob that was curled up on the counter a small distance away. "If the mice carry you off to perform a pagan sacrifice, do you think you'll notice?"  
  
Buyo made no reply.  
  
Kagome sighed. Buyo was getting on in years. He was taking medicine for arthritis now. Maybe she needed to get another cat to take care of the rodent problem... She could just buy a lot of traps, but something about squishing poor little mice didn't set well with her. There was just something about the entire predator-prey relationship between cat and mouse that seemed somehow more... fair... She shrugged, saluted the obese feline, and went to go retrieve the videos.  
  
Her sandals clicked against the concrete as she walked. She hadn't bothered to change clothes before she went out. After all, it didn't really matter in a place where you could see a fully decked out geisha walk by at any given moment. It wasn't that unusual. It actually was kind of ironic, Kagome mused as walked. When she had been in Feudal Japan, she had clung to her modern clothing. Now that she was in modern Japan, she clung to old clothing. The though brought a smile to her lips.  
  
Luckily it wasn't too far a walk from the shrine to the video store. Still, in respect for the darkening clouds, her umbrella swayed on the crook of her arm. Early afternoon and already so dark... It was almost like an omen. It was just barely beginning to sprinkle when Kagome pushed the movies through the return slot. In light of the weather, few people were out on the streets. Turning around, she decided to follow their example. She was so caught up in trying to get home before the rain got any harder, she failed to notice the movement in the alley until it was too late.  
  
Colliding with something solid, Kagome hit the ground hard. Her umbrella clattered against the pavement and for a moment, she lay there, the wind knocked out of her. Then, regaining her senses she cautiously sat up and looked to see what it was that had made her fall down.  
  
It wasn't a what, it was who. A very tall who. A who, who was currently sprawled out on the ground beside her, unmoving. Kagome pulled herself up into a kneeling position and looked at the stranger curiously. She knew immediately from his appearance alone that he was homeless. She knew the look. He was absolutely filthy, had probably been caught in the storm last night, and was covered in mud. A long, worn, camping backpack that seemed mostly empty was slung lopsidedly across his back. She couldn't see his face; it was pressed down into the sidewalk where he fell. His hair was rather strange, though. It was unusually long and pulled back into a tail. Although it was as filthy as he was, there was a strange kind of sheen that showed up through the grime. For some reason, she felt a wave of nostalgia.  
  
Common sense told her that messing with strange people who are a lot bigger than you are wasn't the most intelligent thing in the world, but her compassionate nature got the best of her as it always did. He still wasn't moving.  
  
"Sir, are you ok?" So, it was a stupid question. At least it was a decent conversation opener. She reached over and gave his shoulder a little shake and was shocked as to how bony it felt. "Sir?" She began again, more concerned. He still hadn't moved. She decided to try and roll him over, as lying face down on concrete probably wasn't very comfortable. He was very heavy; she managed to pull him up so she was holding his face, more or less, off the ground. "Maybe I should go get help." She said, more to herself than to him. He needed to go to a hospital. She pulled his face to the side, and was suddenly struck by the familiarity of it. The miko blinked looked more closely. Something about him was just so strange... The rain was coming down steadily now and she absently wiped at some of the dirt on his forehead.  
  
And went numb when she uncovered the blue crescent moon.  
  
Time seemed to stop and nothing else mattered. Unconsciously, she pulled away and stood up. She looked down at him and the sudden recognition grew. The tallness, the slender build, the claws, the hair, the pointed ears...  
  
"Sesshoumaru?!" She whispered in shock, hardly daring to speak the name aloud. How could this be? What was he doing here? She stared at him lying there and slowly, she calmed. For some reason, she was not afraid. Well, not very... She bent back down and slowly tried to pull him up.  
  
She realized then that her prayers had been answered, though certainly not as she had thought they would be. Here was a living bit of that past that she so craved. She felt a strange kinship and as she lugged him up and felt his ribs, she felt tears. What had happened to him? Sesshoumaru was the most unlikely person she could think of to be caught in this position. She couldn't leave him and she couldn't take him to a hospital, so...  
  
Kagome slung the unconscious Taiyoukai's arm over her shoulder, noticing how damaged his hands were, and tried mightily to drag him back to the shrine. The rain picked up and Kagome cursed loudly.  
  
Here she was, dragging a frikken heavy inu youkai that looked like a passed-out bum, down the middle of the street, in the rain, with the all too real possibility that he might wake up at any time and rip off her head. How did she get herself into situations like this? More importantly, how the hell was she going to get him up all those steps?!!  
  
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Muahahahahahaha. Don't get mad at me for hurting Sesshou. I'll make him all better, promise! R&R. How fast the next chapter is up depends on the number of reviews!

Tata, JJ


	2. Irony, The GoldEyed Monster

It is I, Jjah-Jjah! I've decided that this is fun! Writing this fic I mean... Not the other stuff that's happened today. Like the shots. I had to go in for the whole pre-college physical and they stuck me with pointy objects! They had to take a blood sample and the nurse was squeezing my finger as hard as she could saying, "Man, you're not a good bleeder..." Whether this was a compliment or an insult, I have yet to discover....

Ne ways... This is the most reviews I have ever gotten for a single chapter! I is very proud of self... Tehehehe.... Onward!  
  
dancing-by-moonlight: Thank you! I dunno about Inuyasha and Kagome, but my entire opinion is kind of marred by the fact that relationships where the girl puts up with a guy who treats her badly are a pet peeve of mine. I've seen too much! Halleluiah, Amen.  
  
desy: Thank you, you are a doll, I love you!  
  
Arria Raine: Thanks. I just figured that anything can happen in 500 years or whatever... I don't think he'll stay poor forever, though... It's just not him.  
  
Shiori-chan: Thank you for pointing out my mistake. I didn't know about that particular episode, but I think I heard about one where Kikyo, well re- dies, and since she's in the fic, I guess this is a sorta AU or whatever... Ne ways, didn't mean to follow a trend, sorry! I'll try to do better. :-D  
  
lysia1982: Thank you! Hope to hear from you again!  
  
d rkpride: Thank you so much for putting me in your faves! You're a darling! The steps are kinda funny. I mean, can you imagine trying to drag anyone up those steps? And think about the winter when they'd be covered in ice. I know I'd kill myself on them!  
  
KB: Thank you, your feed back is really appreciated!  
  
Defafaeth Mechqua: Thank you! ;-D  
  
Tokyobabe2040: Thank you! Am I updating fast enough? Bye!!!!  
  
Alright!!! Now we must move on to the disclaimer!!! (insert twilight zone music here)  
  
Disclaimer: You are entering another dimension... Not one based on sight and sound, but on lawyers and copyrights. It is a strange world, where anything can happen... A world where JJ doesn't own Inuyasha. And we call it... THE DISCLAIMER ZONE...  
  
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"When your soul is in my soul's stead;  
  
And I will friend you, if I may,  
  
In the dark and cloudy day."  
  
--A.E. Housman  
  
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Chapter Two: Irony, The Gold-Eyed Monster  
  
Oolong tea was a wonderful thing. Especially when it's hot and you're cold and wet and have just dragged an unconscious six foot something inu youkai up a very long flight of stairs, in the rain, while trying to dodge the inquiring glances of all your neighbors. Yes indeed. Warm oolong tea was very splendiferous.  
  
Kagome sat back and stared at her bed. Or more accurately, the being in it. She didn't know how she had managed to get the youkai all the way up to her room. She did know however, that she had pulled a few muscles in the process. A trip to the chiropractor would soon be in order. Wincing at her line of thought, she looked down at the first aid kit by her side. Since her adventures in the past, it had remained neglected and nearly forgotten. At least now it had been put to good use.  
  
She had noticed the damage to Sesshoumaru's hands when she had first tried to drag him home, but she had been unable to really look at them until she finally had him up in her room. It was a sobering thing. She remembered Sesshoumaru for his immaculateness; his perfection; how he had had managed to look in control and superior even in the face of defeat. Realizing that several of those dangerous claws of his were ripped completely off was nearly sickening. The rest of him was not in much better shape. She had had to take his shirt off... (Not because she was like Miroku, or anything, but because she didn't want any nasty mud in her bed...) The shock of him actually wearing a modern shirt was immediately downplayed by how emaciated he was. What was the last time he had eaten? The fading bruises around his chest also spoke of his ribs being broken at some point. There were also a random assortment of cuts and scratches. She had fixed him up as well as she knew how. She had wrapped up his mangled hands and brushed most off the dirt out of his hair.  
  
Now all she needed was for him to get it over with and wake up. The suspense was terrible!!!  
  
But the youkai slept like one who was dead and showed no signs of movement, much less of waking. Before long all the oolong tea was gone and Kagome really had to go to the bathroom...  
  
After the fact, Sesshoumaru was still sleeping, so she gathered up the tea things and headed down to the kitchen to fix some more tea and something to eat. She knew that he would be hungry when he woke up...  
  
Now, what exactly was she going to do when he woke up?  
  
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"Meow!" Buyo said.  
  
"Get off the counter." Kagome answered.  
  
Buyo did not reply.  
  
Exasperated, the miko shoved the purring mass of cat out of the way of the miso soup she was preparing and stirred the mixture experimentally. It looked ready. Carefully, she set it aside on the stovetop and turned her attention to the soba noodles frying in the nearby wok. She had read somewhere that you should feed protein to people who haven't eaten in a while to help restore muscle mass, so she had added some leftover pork to the noodles. However, it was really all the meat she had. That trip to the grocery would have to be sooner rather than later. Kagome turned off the stove and scooped a good portion of the noodles onto a plate. She then poured two portions of miso into a couple of bowls: one for Sleeping Beauty and one for herself. Then she placed the food on a tray along with the tea and began the precarious journey back upstairs.  
  
It was not until she was halfway into the room and looking for a place to set the tray down that she realized that his eyes were upon her.  
  
It took an incredible amount of effort not to freeze; to go on with what she was doing as if nothing was wrong. She did it though. She was very proud of herself as she calmly sat the tray down on her dresser.  
  
"Good morning." She said, surprised at how steady her voice was. "Or afternoon, I guess. Anyway, since you just woke up it doesn't matter."  
  
There was no reply, but silence. Carefully, Kagome risked a slow glance over her shoulder at the youkai. Sesshoumaru was sitting up, the blankets bunched up around his waist. Despite the bandages crisscrossing his frame, it was something in the way he sat, motionless, and stared unblinkingly at her that made her think that he could be across the room and ripping her lungs out at any given moment. She looked back to the tray and poured some tea.  
  
"I made some oolong tea. If you don't like oolong, I've got some green tea, chamomile, and some nasty cinnamony stuff that I don't really like, but my mom does."  
  
Kagome smiled and turned around holding a cup of tea in either hand. She knew she was rambling, but if he wanted the conversation to progress, he could damn well contribute. She looked at him for several minutes awaiting some kind of response, and then he gave it...  
  
"Miko..." His voice very nearly sent a shiver down her spine. So familiar! Even if the majority of things she had heard it say went along the lines of 'Die, Inuyasha!', it was still so wonderful to hear it again! Yet the way he said that single word, miko; the tone of it suggested some amount of incredulity in his voice spiced with contempt. It was as if he thought her to be some dolt who dressed up in miko's clothing without actually being a real miko and expecting someone to be impressed. She was roused from her musing when he continued.  
  
"You are a fool. Do you have any idea with whom you are dealing with?"  
  
Internally, Kagome gave an evil smile.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Sesshoumaru blinked for the first time at her answer, and then tilted him head and fixed her with a poisonous scowl. He narrowed his eyes and reached one hand up to draw his hair away from his face. He was giving her his trademark sideways "holier-than-thou" look that Kagome had seen a million times.  
  
She could have hugged him.  
  
"Pray tell. You think me to be some homeless waif in need of rescue?"  
  
"No. I was actually thinking more along the lines of Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands..."  
  
If he wasn't already pretty much motionless, she was pretty sure that he would have frozen at her words. The tea was starting to scald her hand through the mug, so she sat one of them on the bedside table and then went to go back to the tray. It was then that a low growl permeated the room.  
  
"Human, who are you that you know this Sesshoumaru's true name?"  
  
Kagome smiled in spite of herself. She took the food over to the bedside table and set it down beside the tea. "You remember Inuyasha?" She asked and offered him the cup. He made no move to take it. She pulled up a chair and his eyes narrowed dangerously, but he inclined his head in a way that she took to mean he knew what she was talking about.  
  
"You remember how five hundred or so years ago he was running around looking for the shards of the Shikon no Tama and he traveled with a few humans, one of which was the reincarnation of the miko who stuck him to that tree?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Well then." She smiled, and fixed him with a look.  
  
His eyes widened when he realization hit.  
  
"Pleased to meet you again, too." Kagome smiled and offered him the cup again. This time, he took it.  
  
"Alrighty then." She picked up the tray. "Here I have some miso soup and some yaki soba. You look like you could use it." She placed the tray in his lap and standing up, went back to the dresser where her own tea and soup were still sitting and started back to her chair.  
  
"Inuyasha's woman..." He said experimentally, looking at her.  
  
Kagome winced. "No. That was the one he wanted to go to hell with. My name's Kagome. Higurashi Kagome."  
  
He had still not touched his food, but he took a sip of the tea. "How is it, Higurashi, that you are here?"  
  
"I live here." As if that explained everything.  
  
Sesshoumaru frowned. "I meant, how is it that you survived to this era. That is, if you truly are the woman that traveled with my half brother so long ago..."  
  
"Well..." She began, deciding that it could do no harm to tell him. "I didn't really survive that long... I was from here, this time period, to begin with. I was able to travel back and forth in time through the Bone Eater's Well, using the Shikon no Tama. Or what pieces I had of it. If you remember correctly, I was wearing my school uniform while I was there..."  
  
The Taiyoukai nodded, took a sip of tea, and then looked at her. Kagome shifted under his scrutiny and tried her best to avoid eye contact. It was then that she noticed something that she felt really stupid for not noticing earlier.  
  
"Hey, your arm!" She exclaimed. Sesshoumaru looked at her for a moment as if he had no idea what she was talking about, but then he looked to his left arm and back to her.  
  
"It takes a great amount of time for a severed appendage to heal, but it is not impossible..."  
  
"Oh."  
  
They sat in silence for a few more minutes. Concerned, Kagome noted that he seemed to take no interest in his food at all. It was then that the thought struck her that he might not be comfortable with her seeing him eat. It kinda sounded like something he would do. Decidedly, the miko stood up and collected her own cup and bowl and started out of the room.  
  
"Well. When you're finished eating you can take a shower if you want. The bathroom is the first door on the left right over here. I'll see if I can find any clean clothes for you." And with that she left.  
  
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Sesshoumaru waited only until he was sure she was really gone before he seized a pair of chopsticks and began devouring the food the miko had laid before him. He was sickeningly hungry and his stomach cramped painfully as he swallowed the first few bites of food. It had been so long since he had eaten an actual meal, not something that he had dug out of a dumpster or stolen. He could hardly believe that whatever it was that was happening was happening.  
  
When the human had uttered not only his name but his title his heart had nearly stopped. No living creature that he knew of, besides his enemies, knew his name and she had just said it, like the knowledge was nothing special. The human was Inuyasha's human. He had not thought about Inuyasha for hundreds of years; he had had no cause to. Now he had clawed into the recesses of his deepest most arcane memories and found the impression of the scent he was looking for methodically filed away. The woman was whom she said she was: the scent was the same.  
  
But how? He had woken to the sound of rain beating down on a roof above his head. As the thought of how strange it was to be under a roof trickled out of his mind, the sensations that he was also warm and dry filtered their way in. He had opened his eyes to the inside of a room that he had never seen before and wondered where in Tokyo he was. It was then that he heard the sounds of someone moving around downstairs and the smelled the scents of cooking as they drifted on the building's drafts. He sat up and looked out the window by the bed he was in and realized he was in a shrine. He vaguely remembered seeing a human woman dressed in miko's clothing just before he collapsed. He growled deep in his throat. It was not the first time some irksome human had decided to try to help him, but this was the first time that he had been taken in by someone who should definitely know better. He had merely passed out because his lack of nourishment had slowed down his healing ability. He was a noble Taiyoukai of impeccable bloodlines; the one time Lord of the West. He did not need to be rescued.  
  
Then she had walked in. She had walked in and she knew him. She knew him. She was a mere dolt of a human and she knew him... From so long ago. He grimaced, but continued eating. She had known him when he was at his best. What did she think, now when all he had left was his pride, seeing him at his absolute lowest? Why did he care? He could not help but feel the slow burn of shame; that a human could cause him to feel such an emotion...  
  
He had not remembered her name after all these years. He did not know whether to believe her story of how she had appeared in the Feudal Era, but he supposed it was the only explanation. Now that he was more aware of his surroundings he could sense the faint pulse that signified that the Shikon was somewhere near. With it he felt a pang of nostalgia. Things had been so much easier back then.  
  
He finished both the noodles and the soup and before he could stop himself he licked the dishes clean. Disgusted with himself, he sat them on the tray and set the tray back on the bedside table. Then, he decided to take the human's advice and make use of the bathroom. He easily found the room she spoke of by the strong scent of soap and water coming from beneath the door and entered. The first glance in the mirror was a shock. He hadn't realized that his person was in such disarray. Distastefully, he prodded his once glorious mane with a bandaged hand. It looked as if the human had had a go at it, but it had made little difference. It would take countless hours to set it to rights. He was also distressingly gaunt. It was almost as if a stranger was looking back at him through the glass. He stared till he couldn't stand it anymore and then turned his back on his reflection and started unwinding the various bandages on his body. They fell to the floor followed by what little clothing he was left with and he stepped into the shower.  
  
As the warm water beat down on him he could not help but let out a contented sigh. Hot running water and the shower were one of his favorite things about modern Japan. The water running down into the drain quickly turned brown. He simply stood there until all the immediate dirt was rinsed off before he actually set about cleansing himself. The soap stung his cuts, but his fingertips burned the most extensively. He took the opportunity to take stock of his injuries.  
  
Several of his claws were gone. He couldn't remember how that had happened. It was a nuisance. He experimentally ran his hands down his sides and drew in a breath at the sharp pain. The ribs had been broken, but now they seemed to be mostly healed. He also had many other superficial hurts that he immediately dismissed. Satisfied with his self- examination he began the arduous task of trying to get his hair in some semblance of order...  
  
He was not sure of what he thought of his situation. He and the miko had known each other in the past only as adversaries. Her intentions were anything but clear. He did not know what his next move would be... Then Sesshoumaru mentally shrugged. Perhaps he would simply go along with whatever the little human had planned.  
  
It wasn't as if he had anything else to do.  
  
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Kagome rummaged ardently through her grandfather's belongings.  
  
"I know it's around here somewhere!" She grumbled to herself.  
  
The task of finding clothing for Sesshoumaru was not an easy one. He certainly couldn't wear anything of hers or her mothers, Souta's clothing was also out of the question, and Grandpa's was too small. However, if Kagome remembered correctly there was another option. Being as there weren't very many stores that sold traditional priest and/or priestesses clothing, Grandpa had always ordered his clothes out a catalogue for a store in Kyoto. One time, they had sent him an outfit that was several sizes too big by accident and he had kept it. Perhaps it would fit the wayward youkai.  
  
She shifted around the objects in a trunk beside his bed and stopped when she felt cloth beneath her fingers. She pulled it out and sure enough, it was what she was looking for. The priest's garment was indeed bigger than anything her grandfather could ever wear and it looked as though it could fit Sesshoumaru. It was different from what she wore as well... Instead of blue the hakama was a pale gray. Smiling at her accomplishment, she put all the things she had moved in her search back in place and exited the room with her prize. She headed back, shaking out the clothes as she went. They weren't too wrinkled. She entered her room and started setting the clothes out for her guest to find when she felt a presence behind her. She whirled around and nearly died.  
  
There was Sesshoumaru, one towel wrapped around his waist and another wrapped around his head. The few strands of hair that escaped his impromptu turban gleamed white. For a moment, Kagome could not help but stare. With all the grime and dirt covering him it had been easy to bring him down to a more manageable level in her mind, but now, seeing him shining as he once did made her wonder just what she had gotten herself into. And of course, there was also the fact that he was wearing a towel.  
  
Only a towel.  
  
Damn.  
  
Kagome snapped out of her musing and blushed seven shades of red. "Uh... I found something for you to wear!" She squeaked. Then she stood there and they looked at each other. He shot her a look that told her he knew exactly the reason for her discomfort.  
  
"Do you wish me to change into them in front of you?" Sesshoumaru questioned after a few minutes.  
  
"NO!"  
  
Kagome fled.  
  
A little while later, Sesshoumaru emerged from the room with a royal air about him. Kagome surveyed him for a second. He looked good in the priests robes. She guessed he would probably look good in anything, but there was something about the old world style of the clothing that just suited him better. But maybe that was just the past talking. After all, the only thing she remembered seeing him in was that fancy kimono with the flower pattern and that big furry...thing he used to wear.  
  
Sesshoumaru looked at her and she looked at him.  
  
"There's still some food down in the kitchen if you want more." She said. He inclined his head in the affirmative, and she went to go get the dishes from her room. She noted that they were spotless; there was not a speck of food left and everything was perfectly neat, down to the placement of the chopsticks. Sesshoumaru waited for her and followed when she made her way down to the kitchen. He took his old plate back and served himself, something Kagome could not imagine him doing. It didn't seem natural. He should have been being served my maids or something like that. What had gone wrong? This whole thing was against his nature.  
  
He sat down at the kitchen table and she joined him. He did not seem shy about eating around her this time.  
  
"You are unable to go back in time anymore?" The youkai asked in between bites.  
  
"Yeah. I just poofed back to this time once the entire Naraku thing was over."  
  
"Pity."  
  
Kagome was unsure how to respond to that. She decided to start up her own line of questioning.  
  
"Do you know what happened to any of my friends? Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, Kaede?"  
  
Sesshoumaru looked at her a moment and did not miss the fact that his brother's name was absent.  
  
"I seem to remember something about them settling down in a village. Beyond that, I know nothing."  
  
"Oh." It was a slim hope anyway. She doubted that Sesshoumaru ever paid them much attention.  
  
"Why did you bring me here, Higurashi?"  
  
Well, that was to the point, and she noticed that the statement contained no thank you... She smiled.  
  
"If you really want to know... I think I just really need someone to talk to..."  
  
The silence that followed was only broken by a distant scratching sound. Sesshoumaru tilted his head to the side as if listening then said deadpan, "Your home is infested with rodents..."  
  
Kagome burst out laughing.  
  
"I know."  
  
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Ah ha! I knew that moose was the one eating my socks!!! Oh... Hi! When did you get here? Have you seen my muse? He's a purple lawn flamingo and his name is Ed. I sent him off in search of tater tots somewhere in Bangladesh and haven't seen him since... Oh well... R&R, people!  
  
Tata, JJ


	3. Birds Without Wings

It is I, Jjah-Jjah! I'm baaacck! And I got lots and lots and bunches of reviews! I'm as happy as a hog in slop... God, I spend waaayy too much time around my family... Oh, and I found Ed, my muse! Apparently, he was at mars, but he came home before I could go get him. He never did get any tater tots! The UPS guy dropped him off with my new CD... Yeah... I've decided that if this fic had a theme song it would be In The Shadows by the Rasmus... (yay!) Ok... Lots of reviews... Let's do this...  
  
Miko Sorrow: Thank you so much!  
  
Shiori-chan: Oooh! Thanks for putting me in your faves! You're a darling person.  
  
dancing-by-moonlight: Thank you for reviewing! Tehehe..  
  
Mirokou Sempai-Crazy: Thank you! Just so ya know, not this chapter, but the next one, we get a little glimpse of what happen to poor Sesshie. Yay!  
  
Tokyobabe2040: Thank you, that's so nice of you to say! And thanks for bringing Ed's whereabouts to my attention. He's back now. He shall suffer...  
  
Stacerue: You like my humor? YAY! You're a nice person, I like you. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Lady Death: (blushes) Thank you! You're very nice. A lemon? Er, well... Probably not... I have enough trouble writing just normal romance... There might be something implied though... Oh well, I won't know till I get there... Bai!  
  
Defafaeth Mechqua: Ha! You have uncovered a plot twist by accident! There indeed shall be a new cat and special ness shall ensue!!!!  
  
japaneseangel12: Thank you! You're nice! Can't wait to hear from you again!  
  
Rageful Jewel: Thank you. The red light Kagome saw doesn't really have anything to do with Sesshoumaru. It was partly an omen that something bad was about to happen (Inu/Kikyo and being sucked back into the present) and partly there because I saw something like it not too long ago near my house...  
  
desy: Gah! Someone should just get out a flamethrower and torch the woman... Arrgh. Oh well... Thanks for telling me!  
  
sanieSaiyan: Thank you! I was worried about keeping him is some semblance of character; it's so hard!  
  
WinterBlossom/YukiSakura: Thank you! Hope to hear from you again!  
  
RyuuKumiko: Thanks for the review! Trina3: Thank you for reviewing!  
  
soul: Thank you! I will, don't worry. The truth shall be revealed!!!  
  
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Gah! That was a lot of reviews... (pants) But not you get to read the chapter!!! Aren't you pleased? Ne ways, just so you know, I don't really think I did as good a job on this one, but it needs to be here, so.... ONWARD!!! To the disclaimer!  
  
Disclaimer: (insert mad scientist music and lightning/thunder) Gentlemen! I do not own Inuyasha! Muahahahahaha! (phone rings) Release the phone spiders!!!!  
  
(PS: If you get it, I'll give you a Klondike bar)  
  
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Chapter Three: Birds Without Wings  
  
When the morning came the sun was shining and the birds sang as loudly as they possibly could, almost as if to make up for lost time. There was hardly any indication of the past few day's tumultuous weather. It was almost as if everything was a dream.  
  
'But it wasn't.' Kagome mused internally. The very real inu youkai that prowled around the shrine was testament enough for that. After breakfast, Sesshoumaru had gotten up and began walking around the grounds. She couldn't tell if it was to check the place for booby traps or just to get some privacy. Maybe it was bit of both. Either way she didn't mind. She needed to get the house ready for the dishwasher delivery people anyway. She started by tidying up the kitchen and then she found a way to prop the door open. She also sat a few towels down so that they wouldn't scratch the floor in the exchange. When she found that there was nothing more she could do to her satisfaction, she headed outside to once again to contend with the evil leaves.  
  
"Sweep, sweep, sweep." Kagome muttered to herself. "All I ever do is sweep." She banished a particularly annoying pile off the pavement with an aggressive swipe of her mighty broom and then stopped and sighed. It was early morning and she was already bored. She looked out over the shrine's spectacular view of the city. Making a rectangle with her thumbs and pointer fingers she began following the flight path of a pair of pigeons as if filming a movie. The bird's wings shone blue in the sunlight as they slowly rode an air current back to the rooftop of a random building. Few things seemed so free as a bird. What was it about them that made them so deserving of wings?  
  
Settling the broom onto her shoulder she glanced over to where she had noticed Sesshoumaru settle down out of the corner of her eye earlier. What was he doing? She couldn't tell.  
  
She walked over to the Taiyoukai; his back was to her.  
  
"Hi!" She said cheerily, and before she could continue he turned around and fixed her with a glare that clearly conveyed that it was not a beautiful and splendid morning. It was then that she saw what he was doing: Sesshoumaru, the great inu Taiyoukai, was trying with all his might to detangle his hair without going insane... And he didn't look like he was succeeding...  
  
"Um... Do you need some help?"  
  
The inu lord turned his back on her without answering, clearly dismissing her.  
  
'But he didn't say no!' Kagome thought to herself. She ran back into the house just long enough to find a brush and then she came out again. When she sat behind the youkai he stiffened.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Helping you get all these tangles out. You know, you should really take better care of your hair." She said the last part under her breath, but Sesshoumaru heard it and barely suppressed a growl. How dare the human reprimand him? However, since he was impatient enough to get his hair back to its former glory, he allowed the comment to slide.  
  
The task took at least two hours with both of them working at it. Kagome used the brush while Sesshoumaru used his claws and slowly, the matted chunks of hair became familiar silky locks again. Kagome had tossed all the untangled hair over her shoulder so that she could get to the tangles better, but when all the tangles were gone she pulled the soft mass down and was momentarily stunned.  
  
'Damn. His hair smells really good!' She thought absently. It caught the light and gleamed so brightly, that for a moment her eyes teared up. 'Like going snow-blind...' She began brushing the hair out, marveling at the way she didn't hit a single snag. It seemed very nearly alive; she could feel it even as she ran her hands through it. It wasn't until Sesshoumaru cleared his throat that she realized just how much attention she had been lavishing on him.  
  
"Whoops, sorry! I guess we got all the tangles out huh?" She laughed nervously and scratched her head, rising to her feet in the process.  
  
"So it would seem."  
  
She stood there and for one moment, a gentle breeze came up and Sesshoumaru's hair billowed and shone under it's ministrations. For that moment, with the sun shining down, the breeze, and the Taiyoukai's presence, Kagome sensed that the shrine had somehow been transformed into a sanctuary. By what and for whom, she had no idea and the sensation was gone as quickly as it came.  
  
"Meow." said Buyo as he waddled over. Sesshoumaru looked disdainfully at the animal and moved his ankle when the cat gave it an appraising sniff.  
  
"Hello mighty hunter!" Kagome greeted him. Buyo came over and rubbed against her for a minute and then wandered off elsewhere.  
  
"That is what you use to control the vermin here?" Sesshoumaru's tone held a great deal of incredulity.  
  
"Yeah, well kinda." Kagome answered. "At least that used to be one of his primary functions, but now that he's so old he can't really catch mice anymore."  
  
Sesshoumaru was silent for a moment. Then, "If the creature has outlived his usefulness, then why do you not get rid of it?"  
  
Kagome was shocked. "Because he's my cat and I love him, that's why!"  
  
He looked back at her, his icy gaze meeting her fiery one.  
  
"Foolish." He said, almost bitterly and then stood up and began to walk away. Unwilling to end the conversation, Kagome called out to him.  
  
"Hey. Would you like a tour of the grounds? I can put an interesting slant on it."  
  
He shrugged and followed her.  
  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
"And this," Kagome continued, "is the Goshinboku tree. This is where Kikyo sealed Inuyasha for 50 years. You can still see the scar in the bark where he was stuck."  
  
Kagome looked over at the youkai lord out of the corner of her eye to see how this line of information was affecting him. She wasn't sure how he would react to her talking about Inuyasha. After all, she knew the hanyou wasn't his favorite person. He didn't seem to be mad, though. He was just staring up at the tree with a blank look on his face and that didn't seem to be too unusual for him...  
  
"This tree," He suddenly spoke, "is very old."  
  
"Yes it is." She agreed. He nodded and started away.  
  
"I wish for you to show me this well of yours."  
  
A few moments later the door of the well house slid open for the first time in years. The sunlight shone down through the dust and gave Kagome the courage to walk down the stairs and over to the lip of the small structure. She could not see Sesshoumaru, but she knew he was there, right behind her. She grasped the side of the well like she had hundreds of times before and looked experimentally over the edge of it. The ladder that had been placed there so that she could get in and out easier was still there. She bit back an involuntary sob.  
  
"Why do you want to see this? It doesn't work anymore, you know. Not even with the Shikon no Tama." She pulled the sacred jewel out from where it was concealed around her neck and held it in the palm of her hand. Its pale glow illuminated the interior of the dim well house. She turned and looked over at the youkai who was fixing her with a gaze that was equally as pale. "Do you want the Shikon no Tama?" She asked. This was the one reason that she had never truly considered Sesshoumaru an enemy. He had never coveted the Shikon shards. He had never seemed touched by their enticing power. He had been satisfied with what he was, but now... Was he satisfied with what he was now? She felt numb in that pale red- lidded gaze of his.  
  
One moment they were just standing there looking at one another and the next she could feel the needle-like prick of claws at her throat. He wasn't trying to strangle her or crush her windpipe as she would expect in such a situation. His hand was just loosely curled around her neck, the claws that he had digging into the skin just enough to show how sharp they were. He didn't need to hurt her to show her that he was angry. He just had to remind her that he was dangerous.  
  
"This Sesshoumaru," He began, his voice clipped and freezing, "despite what conclusions you might have drawn, is an honorable one. I would not sink so low as to use that thing to make me more than I am... Any being be they youkai or human would have to be sick-minded to think that the Shikon no Tama can change anything." He stopped and tugged her resisting form closer so he could stare directly into her eyes. "And this Sesshoumaru's mind is completely clear."  
  
Kagome's heart stuttered in her throat and then he was gone. She stood there for several minutes trying to puzzle out what had just happened.  
  
"I made him mad." She said, stating the obvious. She looked at the jewel that was still in her palm and snapped her hand shut. Asking him if he wanted the Shikon no Tama was apparently an affront to his dignity. She certainly wouldn't bring it up again. That is, if she hadn't driven him off with her line of questioning. She hoped not. Despite the danger she knew she was in, she also knew she would rather have him around than not and that really confused her. Was she that lonely? She sighed and put the jewel back around her neck. She would have to apologize next time she saw him.  
  
Her musing was suddenly broken by the sounds of someone moving around the shrine and calling out. "The delivery guys!" She said to herself and ran up the stairs, sliding the door shut behind her.  
  
The dust settled and the Bone-Eater's Well went back to sleep again.  
  
"Hello!" she called running up.  
  
It was the delivery men and they were huffing and puffing and looked decidedly irritable from dragging the new dishwasher up the shrine steps. As politely as she could, Kagome explained where she wanted them to go and what she wanted done. The elder of the two men was nice and compliant but the younger of the two, who was more her own age, simply rubbed the miko the wrong way.  
  
"You know, you should really live in a place that easier to get to, lady." The boy in question scowled.  
  
"Sorry! It's an ancestral home. I wasn't exactly around when they were building it to tell them to make it more accessible to deliveries." Kagome smiled from ear to ear and hoped to God they would leave quickly. Once they were in the house and the elder man had tinkered with the old appliance enough, he concluded that the reason it had malfunctioned was because the people who installed it in the first place were brainless idiots.  
  
"Now see here." He said pointing at a pipe-thing that was indistinguishable from all the others. "This was supposed to be connected here, but those bozos connected it over here! You can't connect it there, the water backs up and the whole thing gets ruined!"  
  
Kagome nodded and tried to pay attention, but she was more focused on the other man. He was looking around at everything far too thoroughly for his own good. It was almost like he was casing the joint. It gave her the creeps. About an hour later, the new dishwasher was installed and the old one was on its way to join the tan rug. Damn. She needed to buy a new rug too, didn't she? She waved the men off after she helped them get the old dishwasher down the stairs (it seemed cruel not to) and then started back up to sanctuary to find Sesshoumaru.  
  
'Here I am thinking of it as sanctuary again...' She thought to herself.  
  
She wandered around looking for a while and found nothing. Feeling a bit anxious, she began to call his name.  
  
"Sesshoumaru! ... Sesshoumaru, where are you? ... I need to talk to you! ... Sesshoumaru!"  
  
She got an answer when she passed by the Goshinboku.  
  
"Higurashi."  
  
She heard it when she was taking a breath. She walked over to the base of the great tree and looked up into its boughs. The Taiyoukai was reclined gracefully among the lower limbs. Still, he was several feet above her head and was peering down at her like guru on top of a mountain.  
  
"I need to tell you something..." She murmured guiltily, knowing that he could hear her. Sesshoumaru waited for her to continue for a while, but then realized that she wasn't going to say what she wanted until he got down. He simply shifted and let himself fall, smirking inwardly at her gasp, and landed gracefully on his feet inches in front of her.  
  
"Yes?" He said, looking down. She was so short.  
  
"Yes, well... I'm sorry."  
  
The inu youkai raised a pale brow.  
  
"I mean," She went on, "I'm sorry that I implied that you wanted the jewel like that. It was wrong of me. After all, I never really considered you my enemy because I knew you never wanted it... Anyway, I really apologize."  
  
Sesshoumaru looked at her and felt some strange emotion that he identified as surprise. He hadn't been surprised in what seemed like ages. He certainly hadn't expected an apology from the human. He hadn't even expected her to have an inkling of the reason why she had set him off. He was so unused to anyone knowing what he was, much less who he was, that he was unsure of how to act.  
  
"You say you do not consider me an enemy, yet I remember many battles." Changing the subject was always a solid option.  
  
"Well yeah." Kagome said, surprised that he seemed to have accepted her apology, "You were always Inuyasha's enemy, not mine..."  
  
They were silent for a moment, then she thought of something. "Well, maybe you could have been considered my enemy that time you tried to kill me in your father's tomb, but you seemed to be doing that just to hurt Inuyasha, so I guess that doesn't count against me... Besides, Inuyasha tried to kill me the first time we met so it doesn't really matter."  
  
"The hanyou tried to kill you?"  
  
"Yeah. He thought I was Kikyo. I guess I can understand that."  
  
Sesshoumaru snorted. "I once had the misfortune to meet the dead miko and if Inuyasha was unable to distinguish between you, then he was much greater imbecile than I gave him credit for..."  
  
The statement was merely a thinly veiled Inuyasha degradation, but Kagome couldn't help to feel a little glow at his words. She smiled. They began to walk down a random path. They didn't say anything aloud, but Kagome's mind was ablaze with thought. What now? She wanted Sesshoumaru to stay. Dare she ask him? Dare she ask how he had managed to end up sprawled out starving in some alley? Hell, she might as well get it over with.  
  
"Sesshoumaru, would you..." She trailed off when she saw that he wasn't paying a bit of attention to her and was looking off to the left of the path by a small tree. She squinted her eyes to perhaps see what had caught his attention and when she finally realized what it was, she was off towards the tree like a shot.  
  
"BUYO! DROP IT!!!" She bellowed. Unbeknownst to her, both cat and youkai winced at the volume of her voice. Buyo scrambled away from his prize and went off somewhere to sulk. Kagome, dropped down on her knees and shielded the quivering clump of feathers with her hands, cooing comforting nonsense.  
  
It was a baby sparrow. Well, not really a baby, baby sparrow as it was summer, but it was still pretty young. It had all of it's adult feathers and the only things that belied its age was the slightly oversized wedge of his beak and the pitiful peeping noise it was emitting.  
  
"Stupid cat." she muttered angrily under her breath, "He can terrorize poor little defenseless birds, but he can't get icky little mice. Pah."  
  
She scooped up the little bird in her hands and could feel its little heart beating furiously against her palm. Belatedly, she hoped it didn't have mites and plopped down to sit on the ground, unintentionally leaning back into Sesshoumaru, who had snuck up on her. She froze and blinked up at him. He looked like some kind of avenging angel. His eyes held hers in predatory sway. His markings seemed to stand out against the paleness of his features more than they ever had before.  
  
"Why did you save that creature," He asked, "When it is the cat's nature to hunt?"  
  
Kagome's brow furrowed in confusion. "But it's just a baby bird. I couldn't just let him kill it. It can't even fly."  
  
"Yet you would deny the cat the thrill of the hunt? Domesticated, how can he go on living if he is not allowed to follow his instincts? Is it not more cruel to rob him of this, than it is to sacrifice the life of a single common bird?"  
  
Kagome looked up at him and sensed that he was talking about something very important.  
  
"I can see what you mean, but Buyo doesn't hunt because he's hungry or anything. He eats cat food. Besides, hunting a bird doesn't really mean anything. Mice can cause damage. They soil your food and they can chew through electrical wires and cause fires. All birds do is sing and build nests. I think if you're going to hunt something, it's better to hunt the mouse, because it had more meaning. There's a reason. At least it's a lot better than killing something just to be killing it."  
  
Sesshoumaru was not looking at her anymore. His head was tilted up slightly, but she didn't think he was turning up his nose at her stupidity. Slowly, he turned and walked over to a tree a few yards away that came with a pair of birds making a frightful din.  
  
"This is the tree the nest is in. The bird was probably knocked out during the storm."  
  
Kagome smiled and rushed over to stand beside him, looking up and searching the branches for the nest. She spotted it about halfway up and immediately sat down and removed her sandals and socks, knowing that it's a lot easier to climb a tree barefoot than not. Holding the bird in one hand, she maneuvered herself up into the branches and then over to the nest. One other little bird was crouched down frozen in the bottom; a little living statue. The miko smiled and placed the sparrow back it in his nest and then began descent... She lost her footing just when she was almost down.  
  
"Crap!" She yelped. It wasn't far enough down to cause injury, but she was horribly embarrassed about having a klutz attack, much less in front of Sesshoumaru. She braced for impact but none came. The Taiyoukai lowered the miko to the safety of the ground and then let go of her waist. Kagome looked up at his searchingly for a moment before speaking.  
  
"Uh. Thank you."  
  
He nodded in response.  
  
"Will have lunch with me Lord Sesshoumaru?" She asked.  
  
The youkai stared at her for a long minute.  
  
"I will."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Kagome collected her footwear and started back to the house. Sesshoumaru stared after her and wondered just who this strange woman was, and what exactly, she was thanking him for...  
  
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And so, it ends... Well not really... Life goes on, tomorrow birds will sing. Oscar the Grouch rules. Ect, Ect... Well, leave a review when you head out. I need something to buy stir fried ramen from my fav eating place. (goooood ramen.) Ok R&R.  
  
Tata, JJ 


	4. Worse Than His Bite

It is I, Jjah-Jjah! And I have discovered POCKY!!!! Pocky is good! I found it at a grocery store I don't usually go to. I got the chocolate kind. They had strawberry too; I'll get some of that next time. And also my car's break lights went out and poor Lib had to go to the car hospital. My car's name is Liberace; he dates Elton, my best friend's car. Ne ways, Lib is ok though... The damn car wash people jiggled something loose.. I've started summer classes too and it's evil like Barney... (shiver)  
  
And now, reviews! Hark the herald!  
  
Defafeath Mechqua: Yes indeed. The world revolves around inadvertent comments.  
  
dancing-by-moonlight: Oh God, thank you! I hate those fics where just suddenly everybody falls deeply in love in the first five paragraphs! This romance will take a while damn it!!! And then there's the thing with the giant Buddah, but oh well...  
  
Hieis/Kuramas-Angel: Thank you! I shall keep writing! They'll have to pry the keyboard from my cold dead fingers to make me stop! (Lets out a deranged cackle)  
  
Jazngurl: Hi! Thank you, hope your leg hasn't fallen off...  
  
Mirokou Sempai-Crazy: Awww... Thank you! (smiles giddily) Yes! Indeed, there is a glimpse into said past. It will be clarified later, but this is all ya get till.... (Ed: Don't give away the plot! JJ: Shut up you stupid bird!) Erm.. Yeah.  
  
Sukera: Thanks! Appreciate the review!  
  
Crimson Colored Cloaked Figure: Thank you! I love giving animals titles. For example, my cat Stinker is The Great Stinkrini... You know, Houdini... Meh..  
  
piccolojr212002: Thank you for reviewing; hope to hear from you again!  
  
lilbunnyfufu: Tehehe! Sesshoumaru's not being hunted per se, but his past is gonna catch up with him, let's just say that...  
  
desy: Naw, it doesn't end, end. I just tend to babble. Sorry! Alright then. Thanks for the review!  
  
Sesshyangel: (Backs away from reviewer slowly...) Umm.. Sorry? Thank you for reviewing! Sess-chan gets better, I promise! Oh, and just so you know... I put curses on people who attack me, ask all my friends.. Er.. Well. You could have asked them, but unfortunately they're...unavailable... (Ed: You shrunk their heads! Of curse they're frikken unavailable! JJ: That's it! I'm getting another muse, you can't keep your beak shut!) Hehehe. Ignore that conversation...  
  
Akki-Chan: Thank you for the review! Here's the next chapter! WinterBlossom/YukiSakura: Thank you! Tehe, I'll admit that is a pretty neat power.. Someone should write about Kagome's magic mini-skirt. I'd read it!  
  
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And now, the disclaimer!  
  
Disclaimer: Kumbaya, my lord, Kumbaya! Kumbaya my lord, Kumbaya! Kumbaya my lord, Kubaya! Oh lord, no own Inuyasha!  
  
And now, what you've all been waiting for....  
  
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Chapter Four: Worse Than His Bite  
  
She stayed up all night worrying and awoke the next morning much later than usual. Late morning sunlight shone cheerfully against her bleary eyes. It was all a conspiracy... When the cheerfulness of the birds outside became to poignant to ignore, Kagome flung her pillow across the room and screeched, "Alright you stupid birds, I'm up!"  
  
Downstairs, a certain youkai wondered if the strange miko had gone insane.  
  
"Morning." She said, sleepily trudging down the stairs.  
  
"I was beginning to think you might have died in your sleep." Sesshoumaru greeted, ever the positive one.  
  
"No such luck." She replied and started making a batch of the most caffeine heavy tea that she owned. As it steeped, she looked around and realized that Sesshoumaru had already made himself breakfast.  
  
"I didn't know you could cook." She yawned.  
  
"There are many things you don't know about me." He replied, and left to go outside. Kagome followed him with her eyes till he was gone. That was true. She had hardly known anything about him in the Feudal Era, and a lot more had to have happened to him in five hundred years... She needed to know. Kagome blinked sleepily. As soon as she was awake, that is...  
  
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After getting hyped up and eating and all that jazz, Kagome headed out in what she hoped would be a peaceful confrontation with Sesshoumaru.  
  
'Who am I kidding?' She berated herself, 'Peaceful is one adjective that could never be associated with Sesshoumaru in a million years!'  
  
When she couldn't find him right away, she followed a hunch and went over to the Goshinboku. Sure enough, there was Sesshoumaru. Though, this time he was sitting at the base of it rather than up in its branches. He did not acknowledge her presence. She waited for a while, building up her courage.  
  
"What?" The Taiyoukai finally drawled. His eyes opened to slits and he glared at her stoically.  
  
"What happened, Sesshoumaru?"  
  
His eyes opened the rest of the way and he fixed her with a look that clearly showed his disbelief that she'd be so stupid as to ask. Kagome felt rather stupid. She had meant to simply ask him if he would stay at the shrine for a while, but the other question just popped out. Oh well. Now that she had said it, she might as well pursue it.  
  
"That is none of your business, human." He growled.  
  
Kagome bristled. "Excuse me! I just want to know. I mean, it isn't everyday that an inu youkai that I only know from the Feudal Era just knocks me over and faints at my feet! I want to help you if I can!"  
  
"I will speak no more of it Higurashi! Do not think to meddle into my affairs..." He started to stalk off, but Kagome followed.  
  
"Now listen here, you jerk. I'm only trying to help, you don't have to get your panties all up in a bunch!"  
  
Apparently, Sesshoumaru at that point had had enough.  
  
"Filthy human!" He swung around, his face a cold hard mask and slammed her into the nearest building, pinning her there by the throat. All pleasantries were gone. "What makes you think you can speak thus to me?! Do you have any idea with whom you are being so obnoxious to?!"  
  
"No! I don't!" Kagome snarled back. "I don't have any idea who you are at all! You'll have to excuse me for thinking that it's a little out of character for the Lord of the Western Lands to be filthy and starving in a back alley!!! What the hell happened?!"  
  
Sesshoumaru flung her from the wall and she skidded a few feet, but felt unhurt. She didn't really care though, once she looked up at the glaring youkai lord and saw his eyes beginning to bleed red.  
  
'Well crap.' She thought as he glided over to her and picked her up by the front of the haori.  
  
"You cannot understand."  
  
"Try me. Did you make a stupid mistake or something? Were you too obsessed with getting the Tetsusaiga and ended up losing everything?!" She was getting vindictive and she knew it, but the one thing she hadn't expected from the Taiyoukai was the reaction she got.  
  
"NO!!!" Sesshoumaru roared, holding her up as high off the ground as his arm would allow. "How dare you imply that I lost them of my own fault? The Western Lands were all I had; they would not have been thrown away!"  
  
"What happened then?" She whispered, not wanting to draw on his rage any longer, but realizing this was her only chance to find out the truth.  
  
"More than your pitiful mind can comprehend. There was the Golden Age: that time in the glorious past when we reigned supreme. Then there were the youkai hunts; hoards of accursed humans killing youkai after youkai be they benign or no. Then it came when even the most powerful of us had to go into hiding or risk destruction. It is not easy to change like that, Higurashi... We, the Lords of all the lands banded together to ensure the safety of our holdings. You think that I would not be far- sighted, but I was neither rash nor presumptuous." He paused only long enough to lower her to her feet and pull her close, his claws digging into her arms. His stared directly into her eyes and continued, "It was merely greed that made me to be as I am. Not my own, but those whom I so foolishly trusted. The other Lords sought to have my lands and betrayed me... That is why I have nothing left, Higurashi! That is why I am here, with you, rather than among what little of my own kind there is left and why I am no longer what you first thought me to be. You cannot possibly hope to understand..."  
  
And with that last sentence, the dam within Kagome broke.  
  
"I, cannot understand? You think for one moment that just because I'm human and beneath you, that I've never felt betrayal? That I've never had a hard time? Hell, when I disappeared from the Feudal Era, Inuyasha was in the process of telling me how much more important Kikyo was to him than me. I loved that stupid bastard!" She stifled an angry sob, "I loved him so much and he never even saw it! Do you have any idea how much that hurts?! It's not just something you can will away. And all my friends... They're gone now; I never even got to say goodbye! I'll never see Sango or Miroku again. I'll never see Shippo and he was like my son! Don't you ever, ever say that I don't know what it's like, because I'm probably the only person who really understands!"  
  
Kagome stopped on a breath as jagged as broken glass and by the time she had exhaled Sesshoumaru was gone.  
  
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The entire rest of the day went by uneventfully. Sesshoumaru was nowhere to be found; he didn't even come for lunch or dinner. Soberly, Kagome realized that he probably wasn't coming back. She was really sad about that. She had blown it and now things seemed to be even more worse off than before. Somehow, she knew that nothing would ever be the same. Before, she had been able to fit into her niche, so comfortable with only seeing those few and far between glimpses of the past. Now that she had actually touched a part of it, knowing that he was there, she would never be able to go back. For the rest of her life she would be looking down alleys and searching in the dark for the glow of eyes of things better left alone.  
  
There was still some small part of her that clung to the hope that he'd return. Did he even have any other place to go? Somehow she doubted that with his pride, that was any incentive for him to stay. She couldn't help feeling it, but still the branches of the God Tree remained as empty as they had been before he arrived.  
  
Kagome poked at her TV dinner and glanced at the clock. Eleven- thirty. He hadn't come back. In spite of herself, she let out a melancholy sigh. She was tired and she wasn't going to stay up anymore, but she wasn't going to her room. She turned off the lights and curled up on the living room couch. She had left the door unlocked, so that if he wanted to come back in, he could do so. She was staying downstairs in the hope that when, well if, he returned, she'd wake up and be able to talk to him straight away. As she closed her eyes she snorted. Even if he did come back, she had no idea what she was going to say... With that thought in mind, she fell asleep.  
  
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Kagome woke up abruptly and she didn't know why. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Blearily, she looked over at the glowing digital clock on the VCR and saw that it was around four in the morning.  
  
'What the hell am I doing awake this early?' She thought to herself, realizing she sounded out of it even in her own mind. Dismissing the situation, she snuggled back down into the couch and was beginning to fall back asleep when she realized what had woken her up. In the next room something fell off the counter and she could hear the soft scuff of footsteps.  
  
Someone was in the kitchen.  
  
For a moment, she froze out of fear, but then she remembered why she was sleeping in the living room in the first place.  
  
'Sesshoumaru must be back!' She smiled, got up and stretched, and headed into the kitchen ready for anything he had to throw at her.  
  
"Sesshoumaru?" She called, stepping into the dark kitchen.  
  
There was silence, and the only thing that warned of what was happening was the distant sound of Buyo's frightened hiss. By then it was too late.  
  
Kagome cried out in pain as strange hands grabbed her and smashed her head into the wall. She was dizzy for a moment and her knees buckled. Someone pulled her roughly to her feet however, holding on to her arms tightly, aggravating the bruises Sesshoumaru left earlier. The light snapped on and the miko blinked away the vertigo to see she was in the room with two strange men.  
  
"Hey, if she knows we're here maybe we should forget about it." The one across the room said hesitantly.  
  
The other, the one holding her, yanked her roughly across the room seeming to purposefully jostle her aching head. "Yeah, right. This is perfect, she's all alone and this place is isolated enough that we don't have to worry about anyone hearing anything."  
  
'Crap!' Kagome thought, panicked. "I would have to have let the door unlocked! Now they're gonna rob the house! My life sucks!'  
  
She continued to stay slumped over a bit, as if she was still hurt even after her head cleared. The other man began taking all the valuable things out of the living room, under her captor's direction. Then, the other came into the room with Souta's videogames and managed to trip and spill them all over the place.  
  
"You frigging idiot! Pick those up!" Her captor hissed, and for a split second loosened his hold.  
  
Kagome wrenched herself out of his grasp and quickly as she could and headed for the door. Unfortunately, she was more injured than she thought. Her head throbbed painfully and the moment she took to slow down and wince in pain was the moment he caught her.  
  
"Stupid bitch!" He yelled, wrenching her back around and shaking her till she felt nauseous. "I'll teach you for making me climb up all those stairs!" Suddenly, Kagome recognized him. He was that creepy delivery guy. She also noticed the knife in his hand as he pushed her backwards.  
  
It was very nearly slow motion, just like in the movies. He was holding the blade like he knew how to use it and he was pushing it towards her. She cried out when she felt the sharp metal cut through her clothes and she could feel the first prick against her skin.  
  
"Sess--" She started, and then stopped. There wasn't any point. He wouldn't come. He wasn't here... Then the knife bit into her.  
  
She had actually been injured a fair amount of times in her life, but nothing was like this. The knife was sharp, and it sliced through her skin as if she were made of soft butter. At first she didn't feel the wound at all, but then as the knife went deeper she became aware of a intense burning sensation. It was as if someone were impaling her with a red-hot poker. Then the warmth seemed to spread out all over her stomach like hot water. She was dully aware when her head hit the floor. She was also dully aware of some thunderous sound in the distance, and numbly she wondered if another storm was coming up. She decided she didn't like storms and then her eyelids felt like they were made of wax.  
  
So she closed them.  
  
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Sesshoumaru was not having a good night.  
  
In fact, that was an understatement. What the hell was the matter with him? What was this emotion he was feeling? Remorse?  
  
Why in the world should he care about the opinion of a single human? After all, she had been poking her nose where it didn't belong. He nodded to himself and settled back into the branches of the Goshinboku, watching the moon hiding amongst the leaves. He had never left the grounds; the shrine was better than most places to be. When she had looked for him in the Goshinboku, he had simply moved to the roof of her house and returned once she had given up. The whole tree had smelled of her melancholy when she was gone. What was it about her that irked him so? He shook his head and regarded the moon once more. He tried to slip off to sleep, but the rising scents of the city, were harder to ignore when outside. His anal retentive nature forced him away from relaxation, urging him to file every single scent away for later use. He growled. The smells in a city were always so confusing. There were so many different ones that it was often hard to keep them sorted out.  
  
He tried to relax back against the tree again. It was impossible. He had never been comfortable sleeping in trees. Only a lunatic would be comfortable sleeping in trees... Not to mention it was hard enough trying to sleep with the combination of this own traitorous thoughts and the menagerie of scents, but what was that annoying sound coming form the miko's home? Frustrated, he focused his superhuman hearing towards the sound and caught a pained gasp of the beginning of his name closely followed by the thick overwhelming scent of Kagome's blood.  
  
He was off before his mind had time to process the information. The kitchen door was open and he blasted in. Objects from the house were strewn all over the kitchen and on the floor lay Kagome in a steadily growing pool of her own blood. Amidst the carnage two humans stood and as soon as they noticed his presence, the air became acrid with fear. The Taiyoukai did not even give them enough time to utter a syllable before he was upon them. The follower of the two was literally thrown out the door where he landed outside with a sickening crunch. The other, the one covered in Kagome's blood, brandished the knife, but it was no use. Sesshoumaru grabbed the offending appendage and crushed it to pulp. The following wrench that flung him outside to join his companion dislocated his shoulder. Once out of the house, the youkai grabbed an offender in each hand, sped up to the stairs and flung them down. He did not wait till they hit the bottom, but immediately retuned to the house. He would deal with whether or not they survived later, but Kagome had very little time.  
  
Kagome was right where he left her, pale as death. The fact that she was still bleeding a bit proved that she was alive, but just barely. The ingrate had stabbed her just under the left side of her ribcage. The wound was deep and precise and had punctured several vital organs. She would not survive. Sesshoumaru looked down at her. She looked so helpless, defenseless...  
  
'Like Rin.' The thought came unbidden. Why not?  
  
In a flash, the youkai was up in the Miko's room. By scent, he found his old pack right where she had left it. It seemed mostly empty, but the one thing that it contained was priceless.  
  
Tenseiga slid out of the darkness and into the moonlight. The healing fang shone and then almost as if it scented the blood that clung to its master, the sword pulsed. The next moment, he was in the kitchen again. He stood over Kagome holding the sword, looking like a warrior of old.  
  
"Live." The Taiyoukai ordered. Then he struck with a bolt of blue light. The sword returned to it's sheath and the pool of blood stopped growing. Without a word, the youkai scooped up the priestess in his arms and left the room.  
  
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The only way, Kagome later decided, to describe things as she came back to herself, was hazy. It was almost as if everything had been covered in a thin sheen of mist while she slumbered. Slowly, the veil faded and life began to shift back into focus, beginning with Sesshoumaru.  
  
The first thing she saw were his fathomless golden eyes as they stared right into her soul.  
  
"Wha happen--" She began, but all too soon her memories came back to her. She drew in a breath full of alarm and sat up quickly; too quickly. Lightheaded, she lowered herself back to the pillow with a groan. Wait. Pillow? She looked around and realized she was in her own bed. Sesshoumaru loomed over her and pressed what felt like a cool cloth to her forehead.  
  
"Don't move around." He ordered. "You lost a lot of blood."  
  
So it wasn't a dream, then. She pleaded with her eyes for him to explain and he got the message. "They will not be back, I assure you. You were badly wounded, so I healed you with Tenseiga."  
  
Kagome blinked. Tenseiga? She looked, and sure enough the sword was leaning against the wall. "What happened to Toukijin?" She asked.  
  
"It broke." He said simply.  
  
"Oh."  
  
There was a pregnant pause and in it, Kagome looked down to survey herself. There were no bloodstains on her clothing. In fact, she wasn't even wearing the same clothes she had been wearing when she'd been attacked. She blushed when she realized who had changed them. Before she could stop herself she wondered just how much experience he had undressing women. She watched the youkai lord as he fussed over her, changing the cloth on her head and adjusting the blankets. She never would have expected Sesshoumaru to have a nurturing side. Then the vision of a tiny girl in a checkered kimono danced across her inner eye.  
  
"Rin..." She said.  
  
The youkai froze and looked at her.  
  
"You learned how to take care of others from Rin."  
  
Finally, he inclined his head. "I learned many things from Rin."  
  
"I'm glad. Sesshoumaru, I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier... And thank you. You saved my life."  
  
Sesshoumaru felt all the animosity he had felt for the human slowly fade. How could he remain angry when she looked up at him with such trust in her eyes? He had been right. She was so much like Rin. And she obviously needed someone to protect her. She didn't seem to be capable of defending herself against her own species. She was too kind.  
  
"You are welcome, Kagome. Now rest."  
  
To say the least he was startled by the volume of her smile.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"That's the first time you've called me by my name."  
  
She drifted off with that smile on her face and Sesshoumaru stayed and watched her for a long time.  
  
Then he went downstairs to clean up the blood.  
  
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Oh, I wish I was a little piece of orange! Hello all! Feel free to save the whales or push the little button in order to either give me kudos or deliver death threats. The tortellini is all the same from where I'm standing... R&R, my children, farewell.  
  
JJ is consumed by the Great Spirit.  
  
Ed: Well. Now that she's gone maybe I won't have to worry about being plucked in my sleep anymore.  
  
(Evil disembodied cackle fill the air)  
  
Tata, JJ 


	5. Don't Think There's Not

It is I, Jjah-Jjah! There's lots of flack going around, but I think I can handle it. Oh well. My second exam is the day after tomorrow and it's gonna be fun fun doodle dum.... Yeah right. Anyway, I had to re-type this darn thing twice because I didn't like it... Hopefully it's ok now... Still not completely thrilled.  
  
Oh and I've got a new muse in addition to Ed, the purple lawn flamingo. You know in Cowboy Bebop how Vicious had that evil crow-toucan thing? Well, that's my muse.. I named him Vib, which for those of you who are wondering is an acronym for Vicious' Evil Bird. It works. Oh well...  
  
And now onward! To the bat mobile! (Vib: reviews! JJ: Whatever)  
  
Hieis/Kuramas-Angel: Alright! Thank you!  
  
Defafaeth Mechqua: :D Thank you!  
  
Sukera: Thank you! And thanks for the review!  
  
Mirokou Sempai-Crazy: Thank you! I really look forward to your reviews! I have a feeling Sess-chan is going to be saving her life a lot more... I guess... Oh! Somebody's cooking cheese in my kitchen and it smells good! :D  
  
Kariisme: Thank you for your review!  
  
Crimson Colored Cloaked Figure: Than you! Hope to hear form you again!  
  
Sesshyangel: Well, for wanting to be a piece of orange, it's a song. It goes: I wish I was a little piece of orange, I wish I was a little piece of orange, I'd go squirty squirty squirty over everybody's shirty, Oh I wish I was a little piece of orange! As for the description of Sess-chan as anal retentive, I think it fits... Maybe HE wouldn't use those exact words, but Sesshoumaru strikes me as a person who would be a stickler for details and would try to plan out all his options in advance so as not to be caught off guard. Or that's my opinion anyway...  
  
CayoteSorrow: Thanks for the review!!  
  
JSR: Here's more! Thanks for the review!  
  
UltaAnimeFangurl2004: Thank you!  
  
ash211: Oooh! Thank you! You're nice.  
  
desy: Er.. Well, I don't think I'm going to go into what happened to Rin. I love Rin and all, but I'm trying to keep this story concentrated in the present. I guess you can just assume that Rin grew up, had a happy life, got married and died... I'm not going to go into what happened to Miroku and Sango either, so just assume that all the humans from the past are dead and that's it... Hope that's ok. Thanks for the review!!!  
  
Vic18: Thank you! I love reviews that talk about the way I write. Thanks again!  
  
Sessh's BabyGrl: Thank you! And no, a lot of people aren't going to get to come back, but some are...  
  
Alright!!! Disclaimer time!  
  
Disclaimer: Oh, I'm too bored to think up anything particularly original that isn't pure flummery... Oh well... Inuyasha? We don't own no stinkin' Inuyasha!!!  
  
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Chapter Five: Don't Think There's Not  
  
As long as Sesshoumaru lived, he would never understand how someone who had nearly been stabbed to death the night before could be so chipper.  
  
"Alright. Shopping, shopping, shopping." Chirped Kagome, "We need to go shopping. We need to get groceries, a new rug, and some more clothes for you..."  
  
The Taiyoukai said nothing. He just watched Kagome zip around the house like a woman possessed.  
  
"We should start with groceries because, you know, we've gotta eat right? So, let's go!"  
  
"Kagome."  
  
"Yes?" The hyper miko stopped on her way out the door.  
  
"Do you not need money if you are meaning to buy food?"  
  
Kagome stared at him blankly for a moment, and then blushed. "Oh yeah... Right..." Despondently, she ran back into the house and upstairs. Sesshoumaru stared after her. Something was wrong; the miko was not acting normally.  
  
"Ok. I'm ready, let's go..." She ran past him, but the youkai caught her before she could get very far.  
  
"Kagome."  
  
"Yes?" The miko smiled and tried to pull away. She could sense what he was asking even if he would not put it into words.  
  
The youkai stared at her silently for several minutes, his only movement the occasional blink. It was easy to see that he was not being fooled.  
  
"Alright!" She yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. "I'm just still a little freaked out about last night, that's all."  
  
"Being attacked and stabbed is not a small thing. Perhaps you should stay here today."  
  
"No. No, these things need to be done, and besides," She smiled a real smile up at him. "If I don't do something I'll go insane..."  
  
Sesshoumaru nodded. "I will be with you."  
  
'That sounds familiar...' Kagome mused internally. But this time it seemed to mean something.  
  
"Let's go then."  
  
It was a beautiful morning and absolutely nothing looked amiss. They neared the bottom of the stairs and Sesshoumaru was pleased to note that there were no signs of struggle from the night before. The ruffians had gotten off easy. If he ever caught their scent again it would be the end of them.  
  
Kagome sighed. It really was a such a nice morning. It almost made it seem as if the horror of last night was nothing but a nightmare. Still, nothing numbed the realization of the fact that she had almost died. She looked over at Sesshoumaru. He had saved her. She could hardly believe it, but she was still undeniably grateful.  
  
'I've always had somebody to rescue me...' She thought. 'What am I? Some kind of damsel?'  
  
"Hello Kagome!"  
  
Kagome jerked back to reality at the greeting. Coming down the sidewalk towards them was Mrs. Yamato, one of the shrine's regular visitors.  
  
"Why, good morning Mrs. Yamato!" Kagome smiled. "Are you going to pray?"  
  
"Of course! What else would get me out of bed this early?" The woman smiled a smile that quickly faded as soon as she saw who was standing behind the girl. Kagome realized what, or rather who, she was looking at and blanched. She had completely forgotten about the way Sesshoumaru looked! It wasn't everyday that a really tall guy with long white hair, pointy ears, golden eyes, claws, and strange markings on his face just strolled down the streets of Tokyo.  
  
"Who's your friend Kagome?" Mrs. Yamato said unsurely.  
  
Kagome laughed nervously in answer. "Well, he's..." She turned to look at him and stopped in mid-sentence. His hair was still white and his eyes were still gold, but everything else about him was different... His ears weren't pointed, his markings were gone, and his claws had become blunt human nails. He really looked human! Had she missed something? She guessed yes, considering the extremely amused look on his face. Or was it in his eyes? Sesshoumaru was as hard to read as a waterlogged Greek newspaper.  
  
"Er... Yes. He's my assistant. Just helping out around the shrine..."  
  
Sesshoumaru gave a slight bow in greeting and the woman seemed assured. "Very well then. Have fun wherever you two are going. See you, Kagome!" The woman continued off towards the shrine.  
  
"See you later!" Kagome called after her. She waited till the woman was out of earshot and then she turned on her companion.  
  
"Why the heck didn't you tell me you could do that?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"  
  
Sesshoumaru smirked. "Come now, you didn't think I would just go walking among humans and alerting to them that I'm a youkai, did you?"  
  
"No, but what did you do?" She tilted her head and looked closely at the youkai lord. He really looked weird.  
  
"It is only a concealing spell. I always use it when I'm out in public."  
  
Kagome nodded in understanding. Part of her felt kind of warm and tingly that he'd trust her enough not to use the spell around her. The other part reminded her that there wasn't a point of him hiding his true nature from her when she was already aware of it. However, there was still something that didn't quite fit.  
  
"If you always wear it , then how come you looked like a youkai when I found you?"  
  
"I was simply too drained to maintain the illusion." Well. That was simple. With that explained, they continued their trek to the grocery store.  
  
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"And tofu..." Kagome muttered to herself, placing the item in the cart. She was just picking things out as she went along, and since Sesshoumaru would be eating a large portion of it, she sent him off to find some things that he would like. She hadn't seen him for a while. Initially, she was worried, but then decided that if he could live over five hundred years without getting killed, then he could certainly manage to survive a grocery store.  
  
When she got to the bakery section she got a loaf of bread and a batch of fresh baked cookies. The bakery section also had a particularly good view of the meat section and this is how Kagome saw a sight that she would not soon forget.  
  
Sesshoumaru was standing looking into one of the freezer case in the middle of the aisle with an expression in his eyes that reminded Kagome of little kids peering into a candy store. He must have smelled her coming, because he looked up from the meat and over at her. Then he looked at the meat again, and then he looked back at her and kept on doing it until she very nearly burst into a fit of laughter.  
  
She wheeled the cart up beside him and smiled broadly. "Well. I've always wanted to try Atkins. What do you want?"  
  
The inu youkai looked at her. "Everything."  
  
Kagome snorted. "I can't spend that much! How about we pick out some steaks and some hamburger. We can cook them on the grill! I think we have a grill stored somewhere at home. And, then you pick out a couple of other things you would like and I'll get some fish for oden. How's that sound?"  
  
Sesshoumaru was too busy picking out the best steaks to pay any attention to the question. Kagome scowled and went over to the fish counter.  
  
Several minutes later the shopping cart contained amounts of beef, pork, chicken, and fish sufficient enough to feed a miniature army.  
  
"You think you got enough?" Kagome asked, shooting the youkai an exasperated glance.  
  
"Quite." Sesshoumaru answered. Kagome shook her head and pulled a bag of charcoal down off the shelf.  
  
"How about when we're going home, I carry the light stuff and you do the heavy lifting?"  
  
The youkai raised a brow. "Of course. I would not think of leaving you to carry anything beyond your ability..."  
  
"It's not that it's beyond my ability, it's that it'll just be a lot easier if you carry the heavy stuff!"  
  
"Of course."  
  
The miko's eye twitched as they stepped into line and no more words were spoken. At least until they were about halfway through the checkout when Kagome remembered, quite by coincidence, a particularly heavy thing she'd forgotten to get.  
  
"Oh crap! I forgot something, I'll be right back. Hold down the fort, ok Sesshoumaru?" The miko was off before he could reply. When she returned, she stood behind him, so he couldn't see what item she had gotten, but whatever it was it sounded heavy. Unfortunately for Sesshoumaru, he only saw what he was expected to carry after it had already been paid for and Kagome was waiting expectantly for him to pick it up.  
  
"You have got to be kidding."  
  
"No, I'm not. We're out of it."  
  
"I refuse to even touch it."  
  
"Well, you have to. You said you'd carry the heavy things and that's the heaviest thing there is."  
  
"..."  
  
"Oh, come on! It isn't like it's an affront to your dignity or something!!!"  
  
"This Sesshoumaru absolutely refuses to carry a sack of kitty litter!"  
  
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Fifteen minutes of arguing later, Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands walked behind Kagome trying to use her body as a shield between the outside world and what he was carrying.  
  
"You're such a baby. Nobody cares."  
  
Sesshoumaru shifted the bag of charcoal that he was also carrying and let out a very displeased growl.  
  
Before long, they were back at the shrine. After putting the groceries away, Kagome went in search of the grill. She remembered seeing it when she was going through the store rooms to make sure there weren't any more evil masks that she needed to know about. She eventually did find it and drug it out into the sunlight. She also discovered the reason it hadn't been in use. One of the legs was bent, it couldn't stand upright. She sighed in disappointment as Sesshoumaru walked over.  
  
"What is wrong?"  
  
"The grill's broken. I'm sorry. Looks like we aren't going to be cooking anything on it."  
  
Sesshoumaru's eyes seemed to glow for a moment as if the thought of not being able to cook all the lovely meat they'd bought was too much to handle. Then the youkai crouched down and grabbing the leg of the grill, bent it back into shape.  
  
"Fixed." He said.  
  
"Indeed!"  
  
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The next task of the day was going to buy a new rug.  
  
"The last one was tan, but I think a blue one would look better this time."  
  
"It is your house."  
  
Kagome smiled. "At least it is until my family gets back..." She caught her companion's questioning gaze. "They'd like you. I think they're all crazy. They never minded me going through the well or Inuyasha. Well, except Grandpa. He was always yelling, 'Youkai!' and trying to cover him with wards. They weren't really wards though, just pieces of paper he drew on. It was actually kinda fun to watch."  
  
Sesshoumaru nodded, but she wasn't sure that he really cared.  
  
Once they had found a rug to Kagome's liking with the right dimensions, they exited the store with Sesshoumaru carrying the rolled up rug on his shoulder. They started back, talking comfortably all the way. Neither of them noticed they had an audience.  
  
"Hey! Look, there's Kagome."  
  
"Who's that guy with her?"  
  
"He sure is hot!"  
  
"You know, he sure looks a lot like Kagome's description of that old boyfriend of hers."  
  
"The one that dumped her for that other girl?"  
  
"That's the one!"  
  
"You don't think she's gotten back together with him, do you?"  
  
"Oh no, I sure hope not!"  
  
"Maybe it's not him."  
  
"It has to be! I mean look at him!"  
  
"Kagome really deserves better. If she keeps on getting back with him, she's just going to keep getting hurt."  
  
"We'll just have to do something then..."  
  
"I've got an idea!"  
  
And it was thus that the three girls Ayumi, Yuka, and Eri hatched their sinister plot.  
  
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Kagome ran her fingers over the new living room rug. It was a lot nicer looking than the last one. "We still need to get you some new clothes." She stated.  
  
"You do not have to trouble yourself."  
  
"Sure I do. You need to have more than just one outfit. What if something happens to it? Besides you can't wear shrine clothes forever, you know."  
  
Sesshoumaru's countenance had not improved and Kagome walked over to him, concerned.  
  
"Are you worried about me spending money on you or something?"  
  
She could tell by the silence that it was so.  
  
"Don't worry about it. You're my friend, I can't help but, well help you."  
  
He seemed to be surveying her with his cool gaze. "And I have become you friend so quickly? Just like that?"  
  
"Time has nothing to do with it. Friendship is just friendship. You don't have to worry about it. Anyway, you can pay me back later, ok?"  
  
"Later. As much as I hate to admit it, I have nothing."  
  
"Please. You don't think you're going to be in this situation forever, do you? They just took away your lands, they didn't take away who you are. You'll always be Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands. It's in everything you do. You'll live a long time, you know. I can't see you not getting your lands back eventually. After all, they are your lands, not theirs..."  
  
Sesshoumaru looked at her with something in his gaze that she could not identify. It was a blank stare beyond a blank stare. 'Something's missing.' She thought to herself. 'Something inside him is gone and I don't know what it is.'  
  
"Perhaps." He finally answered.  
  
"Good. Now let's get out of here. I'll bet you look good in modern clothing..."  
  
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The youkai was still brooding, albeit in a dignified way, when they arrived at the department store. It wasn't the closest one to the shrine, but it was having a sale, so Kagome hoped she would get some good deals. However, it was significantly long walk that took them through some of the more crowded parts of the city, something Sesshoumaru did not appear to enjoy. Kagome felt for him. After experiencing the sparsely populated peace of the Feudal Era, she did not much like crowds either.  
  
"Ok..." She said absently as they entered the men's clothing section. "What exactly do you like to wear?"  
  
Sesshoumaru did not answer and indeed appeared to have completely zoned out.  
  
"And I take it, you don't like clothes shopping?" Kagome asked.  
  
Sesshoumaru did not reply.  
  
"And I also take it that you approve of the penguin's plans to take over the world?"  
  
The Taiyoukai looked at her sharply and raised a brow. So he was listening... Whoops.  
  
"Look, the faster you participate, the faster we'll get out of here, ok?"  
  
Reluctantly, he nodded and started through a sales rack of pants.  
  
Quite a while later it became apparent that clothing in Sesshoumaru's size was not in overflowing abundance. Kagome was beginning so see why he hated shopping for clothes.  
  
"Well... Try this on..." She sighed, shoving a random shirt into his hands. The inu youkai looked at her and then looked pointedly at the shirt's loud hula-girl print.  
  
"Ok, so maybe it isn't...you... But at least it's your size!"  
  
Sesshoumaru's expression clearly said, no dice.  
  
Kagome sighed heavily and slouched over dejectedly. Sesshoumaru disposed of the shirt by tossing it over his shoulder with a flick of his wrist, where it landed on a mannequin. Then the miko trudged over to another rack and started the hunt once again. They hardly had anything in his size! It was almost as if the gods were against them. Apparently there weren't too many people around who were as tall and long-limbed as the former lord.  
  
The clothing rack she was searching through was circular. She smiled, suddenly feeling nostalgic. She remembered back when she was young and how she would hide in the circular racks while her mother shopped. It was like a little secret world, a cave, where no one else could get in. Plus, it was always loads of fun to leap out and scare the crap out of the person looking at the rack. On whim, she pushed back the clothes so she could see that hollow space once again.  
  
Or at least, she would have seen it if three people she knew hadn't been jammed into the tiny space.  
  
"Eeep!!" Kagome shrieked. The rack shrieked back and the miko fell and landed on her behind. Suddenly, the clothing rack exploded and three girls shot out of it and ran away, leaving a trail of clothes behind them. Kagome sat there on her butt for a while, blinking confusedly, a pair of khaki pants adorning her head. Sesshoumaru, who had come over to find the source of all the ruckus, stood beside her.  
  
"What just happened?"  
  
"I don't know... But I think those were my friends Yuka, Ayumi, and Eri."  
  
Kagome finally shook her head, and pulled herself onto her feet. She brushed herself off and when she saw the look Sesshoumaru was giving her, realized there was a pair of pants on her head. She looked at them as she pulled them off and then smiled broadly.  
  
"Hey! These are in your size!"  
  
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And that's the end of that... chapter... I have to go eat barbecued chicken now, so care to compare!!!! And press the button of perpetual grape juice that everyone loves!!!! R&R...  
  
Tata, JJ 


	6. Diamond In The Rough

It is I, Jjah-Jjah! Sorry I've taken so long to update but I had to finish up my summer class and study for the final and now college is fast approaching and my time on this earth is slowly being consumed... Ne ways...

Look at all the frikken reviews! I can't believe I got so many for the chapter I consider to be the crappiest one yet... Zounds... Ok... So let's move on them, shall we? This'll take a while...

Defafaeth Mechqua: Tehee! This is true. By the way, this is where the new kitty comes in.

UltaAnimeFangurl2004: Thank you!! :D You can tell those three apart? I only know which one Yuka is... Or is it Eri... No, it's Yuka... Gah, I tip my hat to thee at any rate.

Sessh's BabyGrl: Thank you! The three crazy ningen girls return in this chapter...

Crimson Colored Cloaked Figure: Buahahahahahahaha! Thanks!

Macross VF1: Thank you! I've never seen another story that's similar... Hmm... I shall search this person out...

Yukari1: Thanks! I think so too. Usually there's too much nookie going on to actually have any character development... Not that that's necessarily a bad thing... Shippo! Well, as you shall come to see in this chapter, Sess-chan isn't the only youkai from Kagome's past out there... And where there is one... You get the picture.

urban-angel007: Oooh! Thanks.. I try to keep my persons in character; I'm glad I'm actually succeeding! Tootles.

Kariisme: Well as much as I dearly love YYH/IY crossovers... Alas, this is not meant to be one... I can understand how just plain modern-ness could get boring though. But don't worry. This fic doesn't take place just at the shrine. In a couple of chapters they'll be off doing awesome stuff in awesome places... At least I think they're awesome... Yea.

roxworld: Thank you and oh God, I know... I mean, I can understand SOME similarities, but have you noticed how the vast majority of them start EXACTLY the same way? It just irritates me... Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....

Mirokou Sempai-Crazy: Teehee.. Hiding in clothing racks is fun though, and darn hard to do once you're older... We won't get to see Sess-chan in his new clothes for a while, though. He has some issues to sort out first..

Danielle DaCosta: Thank you! And actually, Sess-chan hasn't been poor for the whole 500 years... But he's still got his pride... Which will get him into trouble...

Aphiopsyduck: Whoo hoo.. Three reviews at once.. You're nice. I do want the settings to be different, so I'm going have them go to a lot of different places eventually.. Hopefully the result will be halfway original... Thank you for the reviews!!!

MoonliteCrescndo: Thank you. Loopy? Yep, that it is... I'm trying to make this a mixture of crazyness and seriousness, because that's my definition of real life... Anyway, thanks again!

FurA Smile: Thank you!! (blushes) I'll forgive you for not reviewing before because you're so nice! Bai!

desy, Tenshi Youkai no Yugure, HarrySlytherinson, Sukera, sorata-chan, Tsuki Yume, Aduka, soul : Thank you so much for reviewing, I love you all, and hope you consent to continue reading my humble story. Farewell!

OK! We're done with that until next time! Muahahahahahaha! (coughs) Moving on. Here's the disclaimer..

Disclaimer: (pink baby dinosaur crawls onstage) I'm the disclaimer, gotta love me!! Tee hee hee hee!

Alright... Press on!!!!!!

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Chapter Six: Diamond In The Rough

One thing that Kagome had learned in the years since her wandering days was something that she wasn't sure what to name.

It had something to do with the eyes, she knew. Something to do with the way one saw things. It was connected to the niche she occupied; the way she could see something of the past where others could not. The green slivers of nature that sparsely peppered Tokyo were like light shining through the chinks in a wall. These slivers were hard to find and often small, but Kagome could see them. Perhaps that was because she had always lived in one. The shrine was such a place. She could stand and look up and see nothing but the sky. Blue and ever-changing, the sight of it was marred by no wires or telephone poles. And all around it was framed in green; the whispering leaves of the trees that graced her peripheral vision.

"What are you looking at?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Kagome looked over sharply at the youkai lord. She hadn't noticed his approach. "Just looking at the sky." She rubbed her eyes and started over to one of the shrine houses. Not to really do anything, however. She just suddenly felt the need to be at a distance.

She looked back over at Sesshoumaru and smiled softly. He was standing at the exact same spot she had been, staring up at the sky as if searching for some inexorable answer. The youkai was still wearing the same gray and white garb that she had first given him. He seemed completely uninterested in even going near his new clothes. It was probably some sort of pride that kept him from accepting her help. Was it just her, or had he become more distant since then? He had done his hair in a tail today, just as it had been when she first found him. Did that mean something? Something was off... Something was just a little bit different than before.

"Crap!!!" Kagome abruptly screeched. She hadn't worn her socks today and she had distinctly felt something small and hairy scamper over her foot. Sesshoumaru jerked back to life at the utterance and was by her side in a moment.

They both caught a glimpse of the tail-end of a mouse disappearing into a hole in the building's wall.

"I do believe that this infestation of yours is becoming a problem." The youkai smirked.

"Gee, thanks. I never would have been able to figure that one out for myself."

"You're welcome."

Kagome glared at him for awhile until she got tired of it and then she sighed and cast an eye over the grounds.

"Where the heck is that cat anyway?"

In the house, on Kagome's bed, a large mass of fur sneezed.

"Alright..." Kagome spoke and then trailed off into a sigh. "I'm bored." With that said, she started skipping off towards the front steps. Maybe there was something more interesting going on there like a car wreck or something.

Actually, there was something by the front steps that Kagome failed to notice: her broom.

"Ack!! Crap!" The miko screeched, as she tripped over the accursed object. 'Why the heck do I have to be such a klutz?! Why?! Why?! Why?!' She screamed at herself internally and closed her eyes waiting for the inevitable crash landing.

But then she felt a pair of hands on her waist and the fall abruptly stopped. Cautiously, Kagome opened eyes and saw herself suspended above the ground; the gray fabric of Sesshoumaru's hakama taking up a good portion of her vision.

"Why, hello Sesshomaru!" She greeted.

"Have you ever considered installing yourself with airbags?"

"Actually, yes..."

"..."

They stared at each other for a moment and then he began to set her back on her feet, but unfortunately the action was interrupted by three nearly identical screams coming from a few feet away.

"Ow!" Kagome bellowed as she hit the ground. That good for nothing youkai had dropped her! She glared up at him crossly to see that the suddenly human-looking inu lord seemed to be covering his ears in an attempt to ward off the high pitched screeching that was still going on.

'Wait a minute, what the heck is making that noise?' She looked over to where the noise was coming from and blinked... And then she blinked again. Standing there, looking as if they had just heard that all the adorable bunnies in the world had spontaneously combusted, wailing heartbrokenly, and clutching at each other stood Yuka, Ayumi, and Eri... Kagome blinked yet again... And then she exploded.

"What the freakin' hell is going on???!!!!"

And suddenly it was silent. The three girls were just standing there looking at her with tear-filled eyes and Sesshoumaru looked as if he was trying to decide between going on a killing spree and being hopelessly confused. Everyone stared at each other for a while and then Ayumi finally spoke.

"Oh Kagome, how could you?"

The miko raised an eyebrow. "How could I what?"

"Don't you have any respect for yourself?" Yuka added.

"You're just going to end up being hurt!" Eri chimed in.

"Do what?"

"You know what we're talking about, Kagome."

"I do?"

"How could you just take him back after all he's done to you?!!"

"Granted, it is kinda romantic and everything,"

"But sometimes you need to check into reality..."

The three girls looked at one another and nodded in agreement. It certainly couldn't be allowed to go on. They circled around Kagome, and continued in a knowing fashion.

"You know what they say, 'there are a lot more fish in the ocean.'"

"Isn't that sea?"

"Whatever."

"Anyway. Kagome, you know you can trust us, right?"

"Uhhh... I guess..."

"Then take it from us. You should really stop seeing this creep."

"What creep?"

"Your old boyfriend!"

"He dumped you for that other girl, remember?"

"And now you're letting him live with you! Have you no shame?"

"DO WHAT??!!! Who the hell are you talking about?!"

"Him!!!" All three girl simultaneously pointed at Sesshoumaru, who seemed to have decided on utterly (albeit stoically) confused. Kagome just stood there and began blinking confusedly again.

"You think that HE is my boyfriend?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah. He looks just how you described him to us, silly."

And suddenly it hit. They thought that Sesshoumaru was Inuyasha! The miko immediately burst into hysterical, nearly deranged laughter and collapsed. Slowly, tears running down her cheeks, she managed to regain control of herself. She blearily looked at those who had witnessed her fit and saw that they appeared to be a bit disturbed. Still grinning, she pulled herself back up onto her feet.

"Guys, this isn't my old boyfriend. This is his older half-brother Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru, these are my friends Ayumi, Eri, and Yuka."

The two parties stared at each other.

"His brother?" Eri murmured.

"Half-brother." Sesshoumaru corrected.

And that was when the hoopla began.

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Kagome sighed heavily as she slumped back further against a random wall. That had been one of the most unpleasant things she had ever been through in her entire life, and that included all the bloody feudal battles. Her three friends had yammered on for what seemed like hours and then pretended to leave on three separate occasions so they could come back and try to catch her and Sesshoumaru in a compromising position. Kagome, in turn had finally chased them off the shrine grounds with her broom once they began referring to Sesshoumaru as her 'new' boyfriend.

"You have very strange friends..." Sesshoumaru had commented once she returned. Kagome smiled. If anything, she was destined to have weird friends for the rest of eternity... Well, at least it made life interesting. She glanced over at the inu youkai who seemed to be content messing with a small bed of her mother's flowers. His back was to her, and his hair gleamed in the sun. She reflected absently that when he wore his hair up in a ponytail, it looked strangely like his actual tail when he was in his transformed state. It was when her thoughts shifted to whether or not Sesshoumaru's hair could wag, that the object of her thoughts spoke up.

"Someone is coming."

It took a few minutes for is words to register, but once they did, Kagome leapt up, grabbed her broom, and raced off brandishing it like a warrior of old. "Ayumi, Yuka, Eri!!! If you don't give it a rest, I'm going to put this broom somewhere the sun don't shine!!!"

And then she crashed into someone.

"Oh! I'm sorry Higurashi! I didn't see you there. If you're busy I can come back later."

"Hojo?" Kagome breathed, completely shocked to see him. 'Oh no! Did he hear me say that?' She blushed, deeply embarrassed. She would have to make a note to kill her three friends later... "Er... Ah, no Hojo, I'm not busy. Welcome to the shrine."

The two of them began walking back as they talked. "I hope I'm not bothering you, Higurashi. How is your health? Have you been sick lately?"

"Um, no. I've been fine lately. I don't think I'm going to get sick anymore."

"That's good! Tell me, is your grandfather around anywhere?"

'Grandpa?' Kagome wondered. 'What would he want with him?'

"No. Grandpa's gone on a trip. What do you want him for?"

They had come to where Sesshoumaru was and the youkai had stopped what he was doing and was staring at the stranger with cold appraising eyes.

"Well, you see, my aunt's come up with this crazy idea that there's an evil spirit haunting her house and once she heard I knew some people who lived at a shrine... Well, I was hoping that maybe your grandfather could come over and do an exorcism or something to make her feel better, but if he's not here..."

"Well, I'd be happy to help, Hojo."

The boy's eyes brightened. "Really? That would be great! My aunt doesn't know anything about exorcisms or anything, so that would be fine! You can just look like you're doing something and she won't be able to tell the difference."

Kagome stared at him for a moment and was suddenly annoyed. "Hojo, I do actually know how to banish evil spirits. I am actually a miko; I take this seriously."

"I'm sure you do Higurashi and it's very cute."

'And what exactly did I ever see in this guy?' Kagome wondered, looking at his perpetually smiling face incredulously. It was then that she noticed that Hojo was looking over her shoulder. He had caught sight of the youkai lord.

"Hello!" He said walking up to stranger, "I don't believe I've ever seen you around here before, miss. Do you work here?"

In the silence that followed even the birds were quiet. Kagome thought the look on Sesshoumaru's face would have been hilarious if the very real possibility of bloody murder weren't an issue. The wind blew ominously, a warning to all sane creatures that something horrible was about happen, but Hojo just kept on smiling... Kagome briefly mused that the well house would probably be the best place to hide a body since no one ever went into it anymore..

"This Sesshoumaru is not a female." The youkai lord said in his extremely masculine voice.

Hojo's smile faltered for a split second and then he said, "You're kidding..."

Kagome slapped her forehead with the heel of her hand. Of all the stupid things to say. The boy was beyond help.

"I mean, you sure look pretty feminine and you definitely aren't handsome like a guy would be. You're more beautiful. Are you sure you aren't a woman?"

Kagome stopped in second mid-smack of her forehead. What in the hell kind of question was that??? Glancing at Sesshoumaru, she caught a look he was directing at her which asked clearly, 'What the hell has he been smoking?'

Sesshoumaru stood up so that he was towering over the shorter human. "I do believe that I know my own gender."

"Well alright, if you're sure."

Kagome took this point to rush in and try to salvage the situation. "Well, Hojo. Do you have the address for your aunt's house?"

"Oh yes! I wrote it down for you." A search of pockets produced a small scrap of paper which was subsequently handed over.

"Is there any particular time I should come over?"

"Any time today or tomorrow is fine." Hojo glanced at his watch in dismay. "Oh my! I need to get going. Good bye Higurashi and thank you!"

And with that said Hojo left.

Kagome released a breath she hadn't known that she had been holding. She glanced over at Sesshoumaru who was impassively looking in the direction of their last visitor's departure.

"I thought you were going to kill him." Kagome prompted, the question unspoken.

"I believe it to be dishonorable to kill the insane." Came the answer.

Kagome smiled, and then laughed. "Well, then. How would you like to go exorcise some evil spirits?"

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Kagome and Sesshoumaru stood by the mailbox of the house they had been looking for checking the street number. The miko was in a bit of awe. The house was in one of the better, more expensive, parts of town and it was lovely. It also happened to be in the middle of one of those slivers of green. There were trees all over the yard which separated the property from that of the neighbors. The canopies of the trees were so thick that the sunlight seemed to shine down green. There was an earthy scent in the air. 'If I were an evil spirit, this would be the place I'd want to haunt!' She decided. They started up the driveway.

Suddenly, Sesshoumaru stopped and swept an arm out in front of her to keep her from going further. "I sense the presence of a youkai."

"What?" Kagome could hardly believe it. "You mean there actually is something there?"

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Though it feels to be merely a lesser youkai it is indeed there..."

"Wow! Let's go find it!" Kagome started towards the house again, the Taiyoukai shadowing her closely.

Once they reached the house, they found Hojo's aunt on the porch. She praised them for coming so quickly and thanked them. Kagome assured the woman that they would take care of the problem and soon she found herself following Sesshoumaru as he followed the creature's youki.

She was actually rather excited. There actually were more youkai out there than just the inu lord. She was beginning to go deeper into a world that everyone else thought to be imaginary. Perhaps there were things hidden deeper even than she could see...

They came to the back of the house. A dryer vent poking out from the wall proved that they were near the laundry room. Near where the vent protruded, some of the house's siding had come off, leaving a hole that revealed the inky darkness of the crawl space. Sesshoumaru crouched down and peered into the blackness, flexing one of his claws in a spine-tingling way. Kagome kneeled beside him.

"It senses my youki and it is coming to investigate. I will kill it if it attacks." Kagome nodded and they both stared into the darkness, waiting...

It seemed like an eternity. Kagome's legs hurt from being so still. Whenever she glanced over at Sesshoumaru she noted that he hadn't moved an inch. He didn't even seem to breathe. He was like some kind of fantastic, beautiful statue. For a moment, he seemed hardly even real. It was as if, if she reached out to touch him, he would disappear like a wraith and leave her alone...

Shaking the though from her head, she turned her attention back to the matter at hand, and not a moment too soon. She heard something: a faint scratch, a whisper of fur against a solid object. Her muscles tightened in anticipation and her eyes strained to see something, anything. Then, very slowly, a slight red glow appeared. As it drew closer, it become apparent that the glow was of two red eyes, becoming clearer and clearer. Whatever it was stopped and surveyed them for a moment. The eyes were still the only things to be seen; there was nothing to indicate what they were attached to. A long moment passed and belatedly, Kagome felt a little trill of fear lance through her... Then, almost as if a decision had been made, the eyes began moving forward again and the form of the youkai was slowly revealed. Small, with cream-colored fur, black-tipped triangular ears, petite inky paws, two striped tails, and a diamond shaped mark on the feline forehead.

Kagome sucked in a breath and nearly choked on it. No. It couldn't be! She wasn't that lucky; it just couldn't be!!! Then she blinked and the apparition was still there...

"Kirara!!!!"

The joy in Kagome was so intense it was nearly painful and she lunged into the dark, dirty hole and scooped the little firecat up into a bear hug. Equally as surprised and jubilant, Kirara licked her old friend's face and mewed happily. It was a miracle! It had been too long. Far, far too long.

Kagome pulled herself out of the hole and rolled on the grass ecstatically with her friend. Tears were in her eyes and she noted that the little youkai's looked wet as well. Kagome looked back at Sesshoumaru, who was looking at her with an odd expression on his face that she could not identify.

"Sesshoumaru, this is Kirara! She's one of my friends that I hunted jewel shards with!"

The inu youkai nodded and got back onto his feet. Kagome noticed Kirara glaring at the youkai lord skeptically.

"It's ok. Sesshoumaru's a friend of mine now."

The firecat looked at her for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright then! Let's go home and have a celebratory feast! To the grill!"

At that proclamation both youkai seemed to perk up a bit. Kagome tucked Kirara down into the front of her robe so no one would see her two tails and then they left.

And suddenly that sliver of green seemed slightly empty...

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And now the time has come for that chapter to end and for you to press the amazing button over there at the lower left hand corner of the screen... And I'm tired...

JJ falls asleep...

Vib: Ok, then...

Ed: So, review! Bye!

Vib: Tootles!

Tata, JJ


	7. Estuary

It is I, Jjah-Jjah! And two days till I get shipped off to college-land... Once I get there I figure I won't be able to write for about a week and a half. I'm trying really hard to make this a double posting for you, but I don't have a lot of time. We'll see how it goes.

Diatos: Thank you! Well known? This story's well known? Oooh! Thanks for thinking so. It would be weird if Inuyasha came back... Probably won't do it though. Then again...

UltaAnimeFangurl2004: I LOVE Kirara! She's one of my fav characters. I know that Yuka is the one with short hair that doesn't wear a hair band...

JSR: Thanks! Actually this is that chapter where you basically see what's wrong with Sess. As for which familiar face we meet next... Muahahaha!

SilverHooves: Thank you! I just couldn't help putting Hojo in there. (teehee)

girltype: Thanks! This chapter is pretty much mostly Sess' perspective, so enjoy!

The Honest Reader: Thanks! I've read waaay too many stories in which Kagome becomes a bitter nasty, un-Kagomeish person... I like her the way she is!

Kariisme: Thank you! You're wonderful and I LOVE that thing you wrote about Sess swimming. It's lovely! :D

DarkAngelB: Thank you, I'm flattered! I'm trying to be original, and I've never read a fic where Kirara survives to modern times, so I thought I'd try it!

SkyBlueSunShine: Thanks for the review! The slivers of green refer to places that are still living and green in a modern industrialized world where there's not as much nature as there was in the Feudal Era.. Whew. That was long winded...

DevilDo1169: Thank you! I do like YYH crossovers, but I have a separate idea for that... Ah well.

urban-angel007: Thanks! As for Kirara surviving... I mean, we know that Kirara was a companion to Midoriko, and in the Feudal Era Midoriko was supposed to have lived a long time ago... So if Kirara hasn't really aged from Midoriko's time to the Feudal Era, it makes sense she would have aged from Feudal Era to modern times... Does that make sense?

DarkRoseBlood: Thank you! I'm really trying to keep Sess in character, but it's gonna get harder...

ponchita: Thank you! Sorry it's a bit slow. It'll pickup in the next few chapters, though.

Mirokou Sempai-Crazy: Thank you! I'm glad you liked that line!

PrecariousPersonata: Wow. Thanks, I'm glad I'm keeping you entertained! Thanks again!

DemonWicca: Thank you! I'm glad you like.

Defafaeth Mechqua, EndlessThyme, Mary773, busoshwe, Comechatcha, Hanyou and her Yami, hibi, soul, Sukera, atashi-wa-Yume, artemis347, Zero-no-uta, Crimson Colored Cloaked Figure, Tsuki Yume, drow goddess, dancing-by-moonlight, Yami Emmy, Culebra: Thank you for reviewing you guys! I realy appreciate it and I hope you like this chapter!

Disclaimer: I have a headache. I don't have Inuyasha...

Chapter Seven: Estuary

It was dark, it was dark, it was so dark...

He could never recall ever being afraid of the dark before. He couldn't recall ever being afraid of anything; the emotion was foreign to him. Yet now, at this very moment, he could think of no other explanation for his reaction. The stone beneath his palms was smooth, worn by centuries of weather, and it was cold... It was almost as if it was made of a solid sheet of ice. The cold soaked through the clothing on his sprawled form, flowing into him more potent than any poison... For a moment he forgot where he was and what was happening and he entertained the idea of simply allowing himself to fall into the abyss and sleep, but then the insidious stinging of the wounds on his right arm brought him back.

He was not alone.

Slowly, he dragged his hands up to the sides of his head and began to push himself up. He missed the stability of the stone. He was shaking... He was actually trembling... That realization alone nearly made the blood stop running in his veins. He had lost. He had really, completely, lost and there was no way to salvage the situation. Now all there was left to do was await death and woe be it, it was a horrendously dishonorable way to die...

Curse them! Curse those wretched betrayers!!

The fog was thick and dampening to the sense of smell, but he could feel what was coming with no problem... It was close; he could hear the hiss of scales against stone. He stared straight ahead and watched without reaction as the huge snake-like silhouette began to take form. The red soulless gleam of insect-like eyes caught and held him. As it drew closer he could see his own reflection in them and was appalled at how helpless he looked. The round gaping maw filled with teeth emitted a haunting screech. Prehensile tongues shot out and raced towards him.  
There was a flash in his mind of electric blue eyes. They were laughing; he could hear them; those who would deny him an honorable death...

They were laughing, he was dying, and he was all alone...

Everything worth living for was gone...

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Golden eyes snapped open in an instant and the Taiyoukai inhaled a jagged breath.  
In a moment he had shot off the decimated futon he had been sleeping on and was crouching at the foot of it breathing heavily and looking in near disbelief at the perspiration he had wiped off his brow. Why that particular memory? Why now? He placed both hands on the floor, reveling in its stability. Why did these dreams continue to plague him? Slowly, as he concentrated, he regulated his breathing back to normal; the mask slipped back in place. It was actually kind of ironic. He had always kept the mask in order to keep people from reading him, knowing him... But now was it possible that he had somehow blocked his own knowledge of self? Just who was he anyway? He had always spent so much time and effort in keeping others from finding the answer to that question, that he had never asked himself what the answer actually was...

And what now?

He certainly wasn't the same youkai he had been... What had happened?

He stood. That was simple. They had happened. Those three whom he had actually put his trust in. On that night, sixty some-odd years ago, with the fog everywhere...

He shook his head in an attempt to fling the unwelcome thoughts away. He would not be trapped within them again... Not at the moment, at least...

Silently, he treaded down the hallway towards the place he knew his strange, but refreshing hostess would be. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen and watched her. What on earth was she doing anyway?

"Gah!" The aforementioned miko exclaimed. "Where the hell are the rest of the strawberries?!"  
The small firecat perched on her shoulder let out an innocent mew.  
Kagome looked sharply at the little beast and raised a brow. "Now just what is that supposed to mean?"

Kirara blinked as if she had no idea what was being referred to and then leaned over and licked Kagome's cheek.

"You have strawberry breath!!!" Kagome accused.

"Mew!" Kirara answered.

The miko was silent for a moment and then said, "Well, I guess if you put it that way..."

The two nodded to each other as if in agreement and then went back to what they were originally doing.

"I think some peaches would be nice to add, don't you?"

Sesshoumaru opened up his mouth to answer, but the neko beat him to it...

"Mew!!" Kirara said excitedly.

"Alright then!" Kagome, smiling, went on to peel and slice up a few peaches. Once she was finished, she put them into the blender he had failed to notice before along with some ice, juice, and other previously prepared fruits. She put the top on and pressed the button. Instantly the room was filled with the nearly deafening sound of the motor and the smell of burning plastic. Sesshoumaru growled slightly in distaste and left the room, heading outside, unaware of the ruby-like gaze following him.

Slipping on his sandals, the fallen lord stood still for a moment, considering his situation. He could hardly believe he felt as concerned as he did over what had happened only a moment ago. He had become used to being the only person that Kagome talked to and spent time with. Now, she suddenly had another... One who was much closer to her than he.

But why? He wondered, as his feet began moving of their own volition. What was it about this human that she seemed to shun the company of her own species in favor of his? She had friends, this she knew from their unorthodox appearance, but she did not seem to be that close to them. What was it that made her feel the need to forsake all others in favor of the hidden world he lived in? He did not understand...

And even as the thought blossomed in his mind he found himself at the Goshinboku staring up into its hoary branches.

He stood and as he looked at it, awareness of the world around him seemed to melt away. Only he, the tree, and the wind, forever swirling misplaced greenery still existed. The wind seemed to tug at him like a child trying to gain attention. It pulled and skipped and lifted his hair so that it silently danced around his still form. If only time could be turned back... But it could not and he was the proof. He would have died a thousand times to change the past... But he had not and there was no reason why. He could think of no reason why he had waited so long, leading all to believe that he was dead. He was good as dead, but that was not the point. The point was a very simple question...

Why was he still hiding?

And that brought a bitter smile to his lips.

The inu youkai slowly looked down at his left hand, the newer of the two. He examined, detached, his claws, which had steadily grown back and then traced the path of the two stripes that coiled around his wrist. He had once had such confidence in his hands, such arrogance... He looked back on it now and felt sick, nearly nauseous. He had always implicitly known that he would eventually succeed in all his endeavors. That was all there was to it; there was no other option. And yet...

He remembered a trick he had seen once in an old movie a long time ago. That had been back when movies were just starting to be made with sound. It had been a comedy and when the actor had found himself in need of a cloth, he had simply ripped it off a set table, doing it so rapidly that none of the dishes were disturbed. A few moments later the actor's companion had tried to mimic the trick and all the dishes on the table flew everywhere and shattered.  
What an analogy... He had had the ground ripped right out from under him. He had thought himself invincible all the while unknowing of the depth of the tides against him. Kagome. Kagome had told him that he would eventually get his lands back; that he would always be Lord Sesshoumaru.

She did not understand.

He was hiding; this he had come to accept. And eventually he would have to face them again.

Also, he had come to accept this... But the one thing that he had accepted from the very beginning was that when he did finally face them, he would not live to tell about it...

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"Who wants a smoothie??!!" Kagome yelled.

"Purrr!" Answered Kirara.

Kagome smiled at her friend and poured a small amount of the mixture into a saucer and placed it on the counter. The firecat immediately abandoned her shoulder and buried her face in the treat. Kagome chuckled softly and divided the rest into two glasses. Today was a record high; it was boiling hot. Hopefully Sesshoumaru could appreciate a smoothie without too much fuss.   
Something had been off with him for the past few days. She had first started to notice it right after she had bought him all those clothes that it didn't look like he was ever going to wear, but it had only begun to concern her after she had been reunited with Kirara. He was much quieter... Not that he wasn't normally quiet, but now it was different kind of quiet. Before, his silence had been...full. There was meaning in it, enigmatic, menacing, icy, suppressing, raging, tranquil, and predatory. It was easy to see that there was something going on beneath that mask of his. But now... Now, it seemed that there was nothing there; just a gaping maw of nothingness not unlike Miroku's air void. What had happened in so short a time to make him change?

Or had he always been so?

No. He had been different back in the Feudal Era. Different even than when she had first found him. He had had an aura of confidence back then that was now completely gone.  
She froze at that revelation... It was plain common sense to assume that Sesshoumaru wouldn't come out of being defeated and usurped mentally unscathed. Something like that has to do something nasty to your self-image, but... The Taiyoukai had always seemed so untouchable, so immune to pain. It seemed impossible that he could be hurting because of anything.  
'And yet you saw him..' Her mind whispered insidiously, 'You saw him when he first fell out of that alley, pale and sick and starving, wounded as he was... Can you really look at him, remembering what shape he was in then, and tell yourself that nothing is wrong?'

Kagome shook her head in spite of herself. Something was most definitely wrong. She had thought that when she first laid eyes on him and since then she had allowed the conviction to fade, yet now in light of his behavior it was becoming all the more obvious.

It was not just the situation, as she had first assumed. Originally she had been swayed by the oddness of the situation, Sesshoumaru poor and homeless, and had not thought about how he had changed as a person. But apparently it was something she should have paid attention to. There were so many hints that now seemed so obvious she felt like kicking herself. Hard.   
There was something missing.

She had noticed that before. In those times that he stared at her as if trying to figure her out, there was a vacancy in his eyes. The eyes of the Taiyoukai of the Western Lands of the Feudal Era looked the same as the eyes of this Sesshoumaru, yet they were different. For a moment a memory played out like a vision in her mind. She saw one of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's many notorious fights and for once she paid attention to the movements of the elder brother. The fire, the ice... He was amazing, if only in her memory. And there was something there that her Sesshoumaru did not possess...

A purpose to his movements; a reason. He had fought for a reason, to regain the Tetsusuiga, to defend his honor, to take back what he considered rightly his. And now he didn't have a reason anymore. Absently, Kagome noticed how her fingers were going numb from holding the cold glass for so long. Whatever that meant for Sesshoumaru, it couldn't be good.  
Kirara, finished with her smoothie, sat and looked at the miko from her position on the counter. Something was going down and by golly; she was going to find out what it was... After all, wasn't curiosity supposed to be some sort of cat-like trait? Yes, yes indeed. Curiosity, next to consumption of catnip, was the most cat-like attribute one could have. She would just see what was going on between her friend and former enemy...

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"Sesshoumaru."

The silence was broken, his thoughts were shattered, and the wind that had been tossing his hair about abruptly ceased. He turned and looked at the miko as she stood there holding two glasses.

"What?" He asked coldly. He was not in the mood to speak with her.

Kagome raised an eyebrow at his tone. "I just made some smoothies and thought you might like one. Please excuse me if I've committed some horrible crime!"

The youkai gave a delicate snort and turned his back on the miko.

Kagome took in a deep breath and then released it. "What happened?" She said, barely audible. Sesshoumaru turned back around and looked at her again.

"I believe we have had this discussion."

"Yes. We have. Now I want to know more."

The former lord sighed. "There is nothing more..."

"I don't believe you."

"That's your prerogative." He walked over to the Goshinboku and sat at its base, leaning back against the trunk.

Kagome looked at him. Really looked at him. He was slumped back against the tree as if he had no backbone. One of his legs was drawn up against him and his left hand rested limply on his knee. His hair was gleaming and white and made him look deathly pale in the old tree's shade. His head was tilted slightly and he watched her, still as a china doll, out from under drooping crimson lids. His bangs moved lightly in some soft breeze calling attention to that blue crescent moon on his forehead. He looked exhausted. So tired that he might not ever move again.

"Fine then." Kagome said, as she walked over and plopped down beside him. "We'll just have to see, but you know talking about things helps..."

Sesshoumaru said nothing and merely continued staring straight ahead. Kagome started sipping on her smoothie, setting the other by the youkai, though she guessed he wouldn't drink it.

"Something's wrong." She finally said.

"Is there?" He barely seemed to be paying attention.

She looked at him, concern in her eyes. "Yes, I've noticed it from the moment I first saw you. There's something wrong inside of you Sesshoumaru."

The fallen youkai turned his head, acknowledging her for the first time. There was nothing in his eyes...

"That would be the most correct assumption you have made during our time together." He blinked and then looked away.

Kagome stared at him feeling all together helpless.

What could she do?

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Alright. I probably won't get the next chapter anytime soon.. Oh well. Wait for me everybody!!!! R&R!

Tata, JJ


	8. But Not Forgotten

It is I, Jjah-Jjah! And aren't you all lucky you've been so patient? This is a DOUBLE POSTING! Woot! Anyway. I actually do have a shit-load of homework every week, so don't be too surprised if my posting is slow as Christmas. This week alone I have four papers to write, one of which is gonna be worth half of my grade.... God I hate school... And this was the frat weekend so everyone was crazy-drunk and sneaking in boys. At least my roommate is nice...

Shout out to Luci! The first person I ever met who was a fellow fan of anime!

Ed & Vib: Woot!

Ah yes. And I went out and got this neato Inuyasha poster... It's sooo cool! It's got Naraku in the background with his hair looking all evil, and Sesshoumaru, and Kouga, and lots of other goodness... Ah. Anyway, onward! I need to get this posted so I have time to go claim my favorite shower. It's survival of the fittest around here.... On to the reviews!

Sand 5: Thank you so much for the review! (blushes) Thanks! I really try to keep everybody in character... Sorry I've taken so long to update, but life, as of recently, has been pure hell... At least I'm posting two at once, ne?

DemonWicca: Teeheehee... Wow. Thanks! I agree. Sesshoumaru seems like a really strong person.

DarkRoseBlood: Thank you! I'm reeeeeely trying to keep everyone in character.

Morena Evensong: (blushes) Thanks! It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside when people compliment my writing skills. Thanks again!!!

SkyBlueSunShine: Thank you! I don't think Sess-chan really realizes the extent of his feelings yet. Ne? Muahaha...

Iraine: Thank you! Ah yes... Well, it's my humble opinion that everyone who's chipper is a psycho.... Mer..

D-Chan3: Well... This is one of those fics where Sess-chan doesn't have a tail. HOWEVER, the fluffy thing will come into play later. I'm kinda think it's a status symbol more than anything else... Thanks for the review!

Nova Alexandria: Thank you for the review! Actaully, we won't get to see much family-Sess interaction, because... You'll have to read to find out!

Favian: Thank you! I hate stories in which everyone falls in love in the first paragraph... Arrgh. And Kirara's my favorite and she's never brought back...

Rin-D: I've updated! It's a god-dammed miracle, don't you think? College sucks honey, get a helmet.

Hieis/Kuramas-Angel, Sukera, gnar, Defafaeth Mechqua, hyper person, angelprincess22, BlueDove, Golden-Eyed-Girl, UltaAnimeFangurl2004, Cestari, Zero-no-uta, AncientHistory, Culebra, mysticangel, Crimson-Eyed-Angel99: Thank you all soooo much for the reviews and I love you and I wish you heath and prosperity and luck and protection against evil spirits this coming All-Hallows-Eve!

Disclaimer: OH GOD!!!!! I don't own it!!! Oh the inhumanity!

Chapter Eight: But Not Forgotten...

The moon was out and the sky was a deep shade of blue. The sky was never black in Tokyo at night, and stars were never visible. The light pollution was enough to completely suck any enjoyment that could be had out of the night... The sky no longer told stories here.  
He leapt from roof to roof; sprinting over the tops of skyscrapers; moving so quickly that there was hardly any definition in the scenes that he passed by. He allowed scent to guide his movements and his youkai abilities to avoid missing anything. He allowed himself two slow sweeping jumps, and then landed on the roof of a skyscraper. Surveying the city below him, he smirked. There was probably nothing to worry about, but he would check diligently anyway. There was no room for failure. There was no room for incompetence.

Such was the duty of a spy of the Eastern Lands...

She had lived a long time, but she had never had to deal with such... Well, she wasn't exactly sure what it was, but it was sure something...

Kirara peeked around the frame of Kagome's door. Her old friend seemed to be content rummaging through her closet and muttering things under her breath... Humans were such odd creatures... The firecat let out a purring sigh and left to go check on Sesshoumaru.

He, as always, was beneath the Goshinboku. Hanging around the sacred tree had seemed to have become a habit for him. Perhaps it was because of the tree's age. Being immortal in a world that constantly changed was a difficult thing, this she knew. To be in the presence of something as equally, if not more, ancient was refreshing.

"Yes?" His voice came from the Goshinboku's base. He was slumped back against it with the air of one who has nothing whatsoever to do.

Kirara mewed softly and trotted over to his side. She sat and looked at him questioningly with ruby colored eyes, letting out another concerned mew. Both youkai stared at one another for a while, and then the firecat tilted her head and blinked. She wanted answers.

The fallen lord sighed. "Will you torment me with questions of my past as well?"

Kirara mewed and nodded.

Sesshoumaru snorted and looked away. "I am here, is that enough for you? They have cast me out..." He trailed off and seemed to fix his gaze on something in the distance that no one else could see.

The neko looked at the Taiyoukai appraisingly. She was not one to dally in the affairs of Japan's remaining youkai. She preferred the quiet simple life of one who wanders and haunts. (Though that lifestyle had been broken by the discovery of one smiling, beloved miko.) However, there was no way to avoid certain rumors no matter how isolated she kept herself. She had heard; several decades ago, that there had been a dispute between the four lords, and that one of them had been overthrown. She had had no way of knowing that that lord had been Sesshoumaru. She had not even known that he was still alive! Yet now she knew... That meant that the three remaining lords of the Northern, Southern, and Eastern Lands were the ones who cast him out and now probably controlled the Western Lands...

But how could such a thing happen? The houses of the four lords had been in alliance for literally, thousands and thousands of years! How in the world could there have been a coup? What could have justified such a thing?

Kirara's tails twitched agitatedly as the answer came to her. The lord of the Northern Lands was too much of a stickler for propriety to come up with such an idea, and the lord of the Southern Lands was too busy being a hedonist to care about expanding his holdings...

That left the lord of the Eastern Lands...  
  
The firecat hissed in spite of herself. Yes. He certainly possessed the mean spirit and the cunning to come up with such a plan. That was it then.

Sesshoumaru's most lethal enemy was the Eastern Lord...

"Oh GOD, its so frikken hot!" Kagome moaned to herself as she raided her closet. No human being should have to brave such extreme temperatures. "Ah ha! Here you are!" She smirked triumphantly and held up the pale blue tank top for all to see.

The miko was at the end of her rope. She had become extremely used to wearing her traditional miko clothing to the point where she felt naked wearing anything else. But the heat was terrible! Finally she came to the conclusion that if she continued to wear her robes she would get a heat stroke and die, thus, the quest through her closet in search of normal clothing.

There was actually a surprisingly small amount of 'normal' clothing to be found. It would appear that she didn't have much of a life... Ah well. Upon finding that single blessed tank top Kagome immediately shed her long sleeved shirt. She felt like a snake peeling off its skin. Then with some difficulty she pulled on the tank top. She sighed in relief. Even though she was already inside where the air conditioning was going full blast just changing clothes made her feel a lot better. She stretched her arms toward the ceiling languidly and stood up. She was still wearing her blue hakama and it pulled slightly at the carpet as she walked. The miko glanced at her reflection in the mirror and absently noticed that her shirt was about a full shade lighter than her hakama. She smiled and started digging through one of her dresser drawers. Just when she thought she would find nothing, she found a dark grey short skirt. She put it on, ran a brush through her hair, and then bounced downstairs.

She was concerned about Sesshoumaru's behavior. Hell, who wouldn't be? The youkai sounded like he was about to commit suicide. As soon as the thought formed she stopped. He wouldn't would he? Surely not Sesshoumaru... And yet he had changed. She wasn't sure quite what to think of him anymore...

This was exactly the reason why she was getting dressed to go out. Regularly, during such hot weather she would have holed up in the cool interior of her house and cleaned out the contents of the freezer while waiting for night to fall and the temperatures to drop. But here she was! All dressed up to go out and brave the hazards of the desert-like conditions just for him... She certainly hoped he appreciated it, the bastard.

Grabbing her purse off the kitchen counter and slipping on her sandals as she exited, Kagome locked the door behind her and headed straight for the Goshinboku. When she arrived he was sitting at the base like he always was; only he was not alone. Kirara was with him. The miko smiled and strode up to them.

It took a minute or two for Sesshoumaru to acknowledge her presence. While she waited she took the opportunity to study him. He was decked out in full haori and hakama and there was not a bead of sweat on him. If she didn't know any better she would think by looking at him that it was a normal and pleasant day. Apparently yet another of the many perks of being a youkai was that you could endure lava-like temperatures... Yeesh...

Finally he looked at her and when he did so he blinked. She could hardly suppress a giggle. She remembered that he had never once seen her wearing normal clothing.

"Alright, lets go." She smiled.

The inu youkai allowed himself the luxury of one more blink. "Pardon?"

"Let's go."

He narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

"We're going to go shopping at a marketplace. I go there sometimes to get stuff for the shrine. It's still pretty early yet and there won't be a lot of people out because of the heat, so it's a good time to go. Besides, they've got some new booths this week"

"I do not enjoy shopping."

"Oh come on. It's not technically shopping. I mean its outside and it has a lot of different stuff. Besides we don't have to buy anything. We can just look."

The inu lord sat there for a while and then let a noisy breath out through his nose. "I suppose you are not going to leave me alone until I go?"

"You suppose right."

"Very well then..."

They walked together in an uncomfortable silence. Kagome stole a glance over at the temperamental youkai. She was having second thoughts about this plan of hers. She had, in fact, been planning on going to the market for some time now. The market was yet another of those places that mirrored the past and she had always felt warm and uplifted whenever she visited it. She had hoped that it would do the same for Sesshoumaru, but his attitude thus far did not appear to be a good omen. He stared stoically ahead seeming to take what he was doing and everything around him with startling indifference. The miko sighed. He had already cut himself off from his surroundings. This was not going well at all.

For a moment she longed for Kirara. The firecat had stayed to watch over the shrine while they were gone. She had noticed that the little creature seemed to hold some sort of obscure wisdom within her. Silent counsel would have been more than welcome at this point. A shadow flickered around the corner of her eye.

Kagome jerked her head around and looked. Just buildings, cars, people, and the occasional tree. She was getting so bent out of shape she was imaging things. She turned to look at Sesshoumaru. He seemed to be off in his own little world. One in which she was not allowed. She sighed without realizing it. They walked down a small side street among several tall buildings. A noodle stand was somewhere nearby. The scent was thick and heavy in the air.

And then a figure of shadows and light leapt from one building to another far above.

Kagome stopped. She wasn't imagining things. She had seen a humanoid figure quite clearly. She stopped and stared at where it had been. Sesshoumaru appeared not to have sensed anything; he kept walking. The miko grimaced in frustration at this and reached over and poked the youkai roughly as he passed. He stopped and looked at her annoyed, but suddenly his whole demeanor changed. His face went completely slack and his eyes widened in complete and utter surprise. He head jerked upwards and suddenly he leaped over at the miko grabbed her and in less than an instant was flying upwards.

Kagome grabbed convulsively at his haori as they rose with a dizzying fluidity that she had never experienced with Inuyasha. The difference was amazing. Inuyasha had relied on the brute strength of his leaps to propel himself through the air. Sesshoumaru on the other hand, moved seemingly with so much ease that it felt like he was clearing the distance with only a thought. Before she could ponder more on the subject she noticed the exact spot they had been standing crackle with some strange energy and disintegrate. The miko gasped and then was left speechless as her savior landed on the roof of a building facing a pale figure with long dark hair.

"Sesshoumaru!" The voice was male, soft, and yet it carried as if it were echoing out of a cave. "I must admit I'm surprised that you're still alive. My master will be most pleased to hear this!"

"Saguru." Sesshoumaru hissed the name as if it were poison.

"You remember me. I'm flattered." The strange youkai gave a little bow. And he was indeed a youkai. Kagome wasn't sure what kind. The only things that betrayed his species were his aura and his pointy ears. He wore a very plain pale kimono and was about a head shorter than Sesshoumaru. She sensed something insidious about him... His demure appearance, his nearly jovial tone indicated that there was nothing amiss with him, but it seemed only to be a clever veneer. Saguru, Sesshoumaru had called him. He mentioned a master and he knew Sesshoumaru... He had tried to kill them. Was he one of the lot who had betrayed the Taiyoukai?

"What do you want?" Sesshoumaru growled, always to the point. He shook his sleeve away from his hand and flexed his claws.

Saguru raised his hands in a gesture of peace. "Certainly not to fight you! My master would never forgive me if I took that particular pleasure from him."

"And what does the idiotic neko want with me now?"

The spy frowned. "Lord Wakarazuya has given me instructions to be followed if ever you were found alive. I am to invite you to Kamakura. There, a fine gathering will be held in your honor with all the lords in attendance, and what was started so many years ago will be finished."

"Where exactly in Kamakura?"

"Why, the Great Buddha of course. So you will attend?"

"I see no reason to."

"I guess it depends on how highly you regard your honor... Or rather what little of it you have left." Sesshoumaru snarled. "Ah well. It's your choice. Till next time then! I have to go tell my master the good news!"

And then in a blurry display of speed, Saguru leapt away and was gone, leaving nothing but a chill in his wake.

There was complete silence. Even the eternal sounds of the city around them seemed to have gone mute. Slowly, the tension drained out of Sesshoumaru and he lowered the claw he had bared. He stared at the spot the youkai had disappeared with no expression whatsoever. Kagome blinked her shock away and faintly noticed that she was still clinging to Sesshoumaru's haori for dear life. She took a minute to collect her thoughts and looked up at his stoic face while she did so. One word came to mind as she looked at him. Resignation.

"Sesshoumaru..." She began.

"I wish to go back to the shrine." He interrupted.

Kagome sighed. "Alright..."

Kirara purred concernedly around Kagome's ankles as she tucked her white haori more firmly around her midsection. The chill that had started up and own her spine with Saguru's departure hadn't gone yet, so she felt as though she could wear her miko garments again with no problems. Even the intense heat outside couldn't melt the ice surrounding her.

She was going to the market anyway, but with Kirara this time. Sesshoumaru seemed to have sunken even deeper into whatever hole he had dug for himself and showed no signs of emerging. Kagome walked into the living room where Sesshoumaru was sitting stiffly on the couch.

"We're leaving." She awaited a response and got none.

"Sesshoumaru... Sesshoumaru!"

He looked at her without turning his head. His eyes glimmered in the shadows he sat in.

"I want you to promise me that you won't go to Kamakura like he asked..." He said nothing. "I mean it Sesshoumaru. You have to promise me."

He looked away from her and gave a fraction of a nod. Kagome sighed. It was all she was going to get... "Alright." She picked up Kirara and left the room with golden eyes following her.

Despite the heat of the day there were lots of people at the marketplace. She had already bought a few trinkets for the shrine, and was now simply looking around. It was late afternoon and the sinking sun was casting intriguing shadows over everything making the surroundings look surreal. Kirara was tucked down into the front of her robe and was enjoying herself immensely. Everyone they ran into thought that she was adorable and petted her and every food stand they passed gave her a handout. Kagome was almost jealous. Almost.

"Hey there! Miko, you might be in need of a kimono as fine as this!" Someone yelled from a booth to her right. Kagome looked and noticed a wiry old woman holding up a beautiful garment. Intrigued, she walked over. "This is a very nice kimono! High quality and one of a kind!"

Kagome half listened as the woman rattled off more of her wares' virtues. It was a man's kimono. She could tell that it was made of nice material just by rubbing a sleeve between her fingers. And then there was the pattern... If ever there was a kimono made especially for Sesshoumaru. One half of the haori was white, including the sleeve, and the other half was red. On the breast of the white side was a four petal red flower and a corresponding white flower on the red side. The hakama was completely white.

"I'll take it." She said. After a few minutes of haggling the price down to something she could afford she bagged the garment and headed home.

"I'll bet Sesshoumaru will wear this! It's so similar to his old kimono." Kagome smiled to Kirara, who was still chewing an octopus ball she had been given.

They came to the shrine and walked up all the stairs. The bags she was carrying swayed as she moved. Kagome trotted over to the door of the house and opened it. Kirara jumped down and scampered inside. The miko kicked of her sandals and followed.

"Sesshoumaru!" She called and immediately froze. The house was too quiet. Kirara was motionless as well. Her little ears swiveled around as if trying to catch a sound that was not there. Kagome felt was if she was standing at the maw of a chasm and she could hear the air circulating inside, completely empty...

He was gone.

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Ok then! Now review! And make me happy!!! :D

Tata, JJ


	9. Make Mad the Guilty

It is I, Jjah-Jjah! And let it be known that all youkai I use from this point forth, minus Tadashii, are actual species of youkai that I took a hell of a long time looking up. Ok then

Disclaimer: I disclaim.

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Chapter Nine: Make Mad the Guilty

Kagome dropped to her knees where she stood. Her heart thundered in her chest as she loosened her grip on her bags. They fell to the floor in crumpled heaps. Immediately, she struggled to her feet and ran through the house checking every room, though she knew it was futile. When she came to her room she tripped over something and fell to the floor with a thud. She lay there for a full minute breathing raggedly before she pulled herself up, wincing as she touched the rug burn on her chin. She looked to see what she had tripped over.

It was Sesshoumaru's backpack, the one he had kept Tenseiga in. She picked it up and felt it. As she suspected it was empty. He had taken the sword with him wherever he had gone...

Wherever he had gone? She kicked herself mentally. She knew where he had gone. He'd gone of to Kamakura to get himself killed!

"Wait a minute." She said to herself aloud. "He wouldn't go up there just to get himself killed, would he?"

He just might. She knew for a fact that he was not completely recovered from the condition she had first found him in. When he had carried her from the top of the building they had encountered Saguru on, she had felt his ribs through his haori. Yet he had gone anyway... He was going to meet people who had beaten him before. People who obviously wanted him dead... The stupid idiot! Did he think for one moment that she was going to let him go off and commit suicide?!

Probably.

But, he didn't know her very well, did he?

"I'll show that jerk!" She proclaimed to the empty room. And with that said, she sprang into motion. She threw the extra clothes she had worn earlier that day onto her bed along with an extra set of miko clothing, some more street clothes, and all the essentials. Then without skipping a beat she rocketed downstairs and outside, not even bothering to put on her sandals. Kirara met her at the door and followed. Kagome ran into one of the shrine's several store houses and immediately began rummaging through some boxes. Her firecat companion perched on a crate and peered at what she was doing.

"Voila!" Kagome finally yelled. Out of a box she pulled a red bow and a quiver full of arrows. She brushed the dust off them with her fingers and said to Kirara, "Let it be known that I will purify the hell out of all who cross me."

Kirara nodded. It was best to agree with Kagome whenever she was in a mood like this. The miko darted back into the house.

From years of practice, Kagome had the process of packing everything that could possibly be useful on a journey in roughly ten minutes down pat. She had been going to use her trusty yellow pack, but decided instead to use Sesshoumaru's. The length of it made it easy to tuck her weapons inside. Once everything was safely packed, she started downstairs and once she got to the door she stopped, looking down at the bags scattered there. Slowly she bent down, mindful of the weight of the backpack, and picked up the bag that held the kimono she had bought for the youkai lord. She stood, went into the kitchen, and plopped the pack down on the table.

"Since I went through so much trouble to get this thing, I'm not going to leave it behind!" She muttered as she shoved the paper wrapped garment into a compartment. "Come on Kirara!" The time had come to depart.

As she came closer to the door and closer to leaving she felt a thick pang of guilt run through her. She was leaving the shrine all alone... And Buyo too. It certainly wasn't very responsible. Perhaps she should ask Kirara to stay behind and make sure they weren't burglarized again and watch over things. Kagome's step slowed. She couldn't just leave could she?

And it was then that the age old factors of convenience and irony came into play...

The front door swung open and a short figure carrying a suitcase, wearing priest's robes, and with a pink and yellow lampshade on his head staggered into the house.

"Grandpa!!!"

"Why hello Kagome, long time no—"

"See ya Grandpa! I've got to go to Kamakura to keep Inuyasha's older half-brother from killing himself, or rather being killed by a bunch of youkai lords and all sorts of nasty stuff like that, so don't worry about me if I'm gone for a while, I'll be back eventually!"

And then the door slammed and Kagome was gone. The old man stood there blinking. "Do what?"

The bustling, forever murmuring, Tokyo Station flowed around Kagome as she stared at a map on the wall, looking for the platform her train was leaving from. It was a lucky thing that Tokyo and Kamakura weren't that far apart. It took only less than an hour to get there on the JR Yokosuka Line. Unfortunately it was not a straight line trip; the train stopped briefly at the Kitakamakura Station, but if was the fastest she could afford. It would be dark by the time she got there, but at least that would mean that there would be fewer passengers to wonder about a young miko with a red eyed two tailed cat and a suspicious looking backpack... Finally she picked out the correct platform and hurried toward it.

There were more people than she expected on the train once she finally boarded, but not too many. There was still plenty of sitting-room. No sooner had the miko sat down, the machine lurched forward. She clutched at the seat for a moment to keep her balance and then settled down comfortably. It was around 7:45, so that meant that they'd arrive a little before 8:45. She only hoped she had enough time. She had no idea how quickly Sesshoumaru could travel, or rather how quickly he would choose to travel. Lord, the trouble she went through...

Kirara squirmed down into the folds of her haori and fell asleep. Kagome watched, smiling, as watched the little neko twitch in feline dreams. Shippo had once twitched like that when he was asleep... The miko shook her head to dislodge the memory and looked around the cabin. All of the other passengers were either sleeping or talking to those whom they were traveling with. As she continued to survey her surroundings she noticed a little brochure. Curious, she picked it up. It was about the attractions at her destination, Kamakura.

Kamakura was a popular vacation spot for the people of Tokyo in the summer months. The costal town had a variety of things going for it: nice beaches, several Buddhist Temples, one important shrine, and most importantly, the Great Buddha. The Great Buddha was a huge bronze statue of Amida Buddha. It was the second largest such statue in Japan, at 13.35 meters in height. It used to be inside a temple, but a tsunami knocked the temple down, leaving the statue in open air.

This was where Sesshoumaru was set to meet his enemies. Kagome sighed and bowed her head. The statue was the most frequented tourist attraction in Kamakura. It didn't sound like the most logical place for a youkai meeting, especially one in which fighting might be involved. How powerful were these youkai lords that they did not fear being in such a heavily populated place? It seemed that a daunting task was ahead of her...

But since when had that been an issue?

Hell, she had been knee-deep in every possible kind of youkai conflict for several years and lived to tell the tale repeatedly. She certainly wasn't going to scare herself with unknowns. She would go in, purify the bad guys, and yell at Sesshoumaru till he went deaf. That was all there was to it...

A Taiyoukai stood at the steps leading up to a great temple. The smell of countless human tourists hung in the air, though the temple had been closed for hours. Slowly, in no hurry, with a blatantly bored expression on his face, he climbed the steps. There weren't as many as there were at the abode of the miko, thank God, but it felt as if there were a thousand more. The time had come...

He stopped. To any other, the open space ahead of him would have seemed empty, but it was not... The energy from the swirling purple barrier made his clothing and hair stir as if it was wind. It was not. It was his future... He drew in a long breath and let it go. Then he stepped through.

The scene before him looked the same, save for the four figures within. One was Saguru, crouched on top of a light fixture, smirking for all he was worth. The other three sat together in ornate chairs set in a row. He knew them. They were his betrayers.

"Well, well, Sesshoumaru." The one at the far end drawled in a dewy voice. "I could hardly believe that you still lived, yet here you are!"

Sesshoumaru growled. Had he been in his true form the fur along his back would have stood on end. He could hear the Cheshire smile in that voice. He could see the slanting blue eyes flash smugly.

"Wakarazuya."

"Guilty." The neko youkai grinned. Sesshoumaru could have thrown up. The creature was despicable. He had never been friends with any of the lords, only allies; however he could not recall a time when the Eastern Lord had not rubbed him the wrong way. He had always attributed it to the age old tension between cat and dog; the fact that their lands were opposite one another. Yet after the betrayal he had been forced to revise his view. There was just something about Wakarazuya that made one feel like death was approaching... His appearance belied it. He was short, usually so. Even Kagome was taller than he. His thick smoky blue hair fell down his back in childish spikes. His eyes, electric blue, sparkled with intelligence. The green stripes under his cheekbones looked smeared on like an after thought. He looked almost foppish... Almost. Perhaps it was his unassuming appearance that was the loudest warning...

"I missed you. You know that... I was disappointed when your body disappeared. I would have liked to play with you more." His tone was as unconcerned as a child asking about dinner.

"I'll admit we were all exceedingly surprised, Sesshoumaru." That was Tadashii, Lord of the North. The bastard was just as uptight as he was when they last saw one another. Sesshoumaru would have believed him to be the least likely to be in on a plot... Yet he had been. Apparently appearances were deceiving. The modest earthen tones of his clothing and his strict expression hid his black heart well. Even now, as he looked out from beneath those distinctive polished antlers that betrayed him as a shika youkai, he seemed the epitome of discretion. The Southern Lord just laughed. Higure, the gray kitsune with green evil eyes, stared and smiled like a sadist. Higure should have been gotten rid of long, long ago...

"I am here." Sesshoumaru rumbled. "Do what you will. Let's get this over and done with."

"Always to the point!" The neko beamed. "Over and done, with you say? Could it be that you have been waiting all this time to die, Sesshoumaru?"

That smile. That smile. No matter how long he lived he would never be able to stand that bastard's revolting smile. The form of the inu youkai blurred and suddenly he was looming over the space above where the betrayers sat like an angel with a flaming sword. Two index fingers pointed forward and a whip of yellow light slashed down. It seemed that the fallen lord's attack would be victorious. Wakarazuya stared upwards into the face of death and smiled.

"Oh no." He let out an amused chuckle.

The youki whip passed right through the images of the lords like a ghost. Sesshoumaru bounded a few feet away, and then turned and snarled. "Magic."

Those dishonorable cowardly asses... They were not even bothering to be there in person. Wakarazuya was an onmyouji, or ritual magician; a sorcerer of great power. No doubt it was he who had created the image.

The sound of the neko's mocking applause filled the air around the inu as it began to fill with a thick, familiar fog of youki. "Very impressive, Sesshoumaru. It irks me to think that you believe we can be defeated as easily as you were. And are going to be again..." His form turned and he strode a few short steps toward his icy counterpart and then hissed, "Let's start where we left off shall we?"

No sooner had the words fallen from his cursed lips a soul-chilling shriek filled the air. Followed by another. And another. And another.

Sesshoumaru snarled and snapped his head in the direction the sounds were coming from. It had only taken one of those bespelled nozuchi to defeat him before. How could he possibly stand up to more than one? The same uninhibited trembling started up just as it had over sixty years ago. Normally nozuchi youkai would not be a problem. Normally nozuchi were weak. Normally... But these nozuchi were far from normal. With his stinking sorcery Wakarazuya had changed them into something more than they should have been; regenerating, Herculean monsters that absorbed any youki in their vicinity like leeches. How could he fight back if it was his every attack, his very essence which made them stronger?

He could not.

He lowered his head. He could not win... But it was going to be a magnificent battle.

The train hissed and screamed as if it was alive as it pulled away from the station, heading back towards Tokyo. A miko clad in blue and white stood on the station platform and was hit with the wave of hot air the train kicked out as it escaped. All her fellow passengers drifted off like moths in the night till she was the only one left. An aging conductor looked at her enquiringly, but as soon as he moved to ask if he could help her, she walked away and disappeared as well. Though he wasn't certain, he could have sworn he saw a creature with glowing red eyes accompanying her. But then again, he was getting on in years.

Kagome waited until she couldn't see anyone around, and then she broke into a dead run, following all the clearly marked signs that pointed towards the great Buddha. Kirara, running beside her let out an endless throaty hiss as they drew closer. Something bad was going on. Without stopping Kagome manipulated the unfamiliar backpack around and pulled out her bow. She gripped the wood in her teeth as she fumbled for her arrows. Even her figuratively inexperienced senses could feel it now. To a normal human the balmy night was like any other, but she could see the nasty purple glow marring the picturesque landscape. She headed towards it. This could not bear well for Sesshoumaru.

There were five of them. Each enormous, scaled white, and screeching through all those teeth while he watched himself reflected in the emptiness of their eyes. They were all snaky body, vestigial eyes and teeth, nozuchi. No matter where he looked that was all he saw. That and blood...

It was hard to believe that they moved as fast as they did with their bulk. The delighted crowing of the Eastern Lord to his comrades faded to an annoying buzz in his ears. Time, sound, space, sight, movement: all were blending together in a bloody montage. His body seemed slow, and he could see in advance every exact mistake that he made.

His youki whip sliced down across one creature's neck. It bounced off with a noticeable ping sound. It was useless. Their mere presence was making him weary. They were already feeding on his youki. He zipped up high, hoping to get above them, but it was another mistake. A maw full of jutting teeth lodged itself in his back. He wrenched himself out with pure strength alone, feeling flesh tear sickeningly. He landed on the ground with an ungraceful thud. The stone was slick beneath his feet, no doubt from his own blood. He drew in a painful, tired breath and in that instant, a rib-crushing pressure enveloped him and he found himself unable to move in the slightest. One of them had him. He was being drawn into the all embracing coils of a constricting snake and the life was being sucked out of him. Tenseiga pulsed at his side weakly and then faded out of thought and mind. The sword, though an instrument of healing, was still of a youkai and its strength was being drawn upon as well. That was how Tokijin had ended; shattering in his hand as if made of glass. Somewhere, vaguely, he could hear the stupid neko blathering on, but he chose to ignore it. His last moments were for himself and himself alone... Yet there was a pang somewhere in the region where his heart might have been. He had betrayed the little miko's trust. For some reason that was the only thing in his mind and it expanded into something hallucinatory till he imagined her worried for him, weeping for him in death. For some reason that seemed alright. He was content to have the miko weep for him. He closed his eyes would have begun to fall back into himself if it weren't for an extremely familiar voice that cried out his name.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap..." Kagome chanted unknowingly as she came upon the barrier. The sight in front of her was like a double exposed photograph; she could see both what she was meant to and what she was not. Hesitantly she stood in front of the glowing wall. She could feel Kirara against her leg, still hissing. Then she felt a surge of youki so strong it made her teeth ache, and without a second thought she touched the phosphorescence before her and passed through. None of the negative energy touched her; her own purer energy pushed it away. As soon as she and Kirara were on the other side the hole closed up again, leaving the distinct impression of stepping into another world.

The sounds of battle flowed all around her like echoes of the past. She shifted her pack so that it was out of the way, put on her quiver, and automatically pulled out an arrow, readying it to be fired. If anything, she had the element of surprise. No one would expect a crazy miko with purifying powers to jump in and rescue a youkai lord... It was at that moment that she realized just how absurd everything happening around her really was, but she had to squish the thought down. At the moment there were more important things. Kagome looked down to see the firecat looking at her with a very serious expression. 'Are you sure?' She seemed to say.

Kagome nodded.

And off they went.

They stopped when they came in sight of the open space directly in front of the great statue. In front of the smiling, tranquil figure, several huge monsters hissed and screamed. Kagome blinked at them; she had never seen such youkai before, but nonetheless there was something familiar... She wracked her brain for a moment and then realized they were nozuchi.

The miko had never been particularly knowledgeable about the different species of youkai when she had been in the Feudal Era. That had been more of Sango's forte. However, once she had started studying Japanese mythology in college she had learned how to categorize the different species, or at least the way they were in legend. These were different from the nozuchi she had learned about, though. Nozuchi were supposed to be much smaller, with no scales, eyes, or bad attitude. In fact they were supposed to be extremely timid and relatively harmless. There was an aura hanging over these creatures that was not natural...

It was then that she noticed the four figures off to the side. One she recognized, Saguru. From the rich dress of the other three she guessed that they were the other youkai lords. All of them were looking over at one particular nozuchi.

Which appeared to be holding a near lifeless Sesshoumaru.

The nerve.

The pleasant reverie of the three lords upon seeing the demise of their worst enemy was suddenly disturbed by an earsplitting shriek.

"Sesshoumaru, you stupid idiot!!!!"

Golden eyes eased open to the sight of an angel wielding bow and arrow.

"You promised me that you wouldn't go off and get yourself killed and now look at you!!! I'm really pissed at you! Train tickets cost money you know!"

"A miko?" Uttered Wakarazuya in obvious incredulity.

"Kag...ome..." The soft utterance from the inu youkai was too quiet for anyone but himself to hear. He blinked confusedly several times. Why on earth would she be here?

"That is the woman who was with Sesshoumaru when I found him, Master." Saguru chimed in.

"And you did not think it pertinent until now to mention she was a miko?" He sent his servant a sideways glance.

"I didn't know. She was not wearing the uniform when I saw her. She was human; I didn't think it important enough to bring to your attention."

The neko's face was stony for a moment, and then he smiled. "No matter. In this day and age the word 'miko' has no meaning anymore. She's as good as dead coming here."

"Sesshoumaru, you quit this giving up suicidal behavior right now! Come on, if Inuyasha could defeat Ryukotsusei, then you can kill these dumb snake things!" The fallen lord only stared at her.

"Could someone please rid us of this detestable noise?" Tadashii droned.

"Oi, Saguru! Throw a bomb at her!" Higure sniggered.

"As milords command." The spy bowed and tossed a sphere of sizzling energy in Kagome's direction. As soon as it came within striking range, Kirara transformed in a blast of fire and batted it away with a deadly paw. Saber-fanged jaws let out a mighty roar towards their opponents.

Wakarazuya blinked. Then he narrowed his eyes and with a slight gesture of his hand, one of the nozuchi turned away from Sesshoumaru and shot towards her.

With a strange almost more-than-human tranquility, the reincarnated miko drew back her bow, aimed, and fired. Blue shimmering energy shot forward and left a tail like a comet.

There was a flash of light. The nozuchi flinched back at the impact and let out a shrill scream grossly unlike its other shrieks. Immediately it began to writhe horribly and as soon as the light faded it was suddenly apparent that half the youkai's body had melted right off.

All the youkai were speechless; even the remaining nozuchi were quiet. Only the wounded one continued to scream as it tried to make a hasty retreat. Kagome notched another arrow and let it fly into the creature's back. The resulting roar of anguish faded away as the enchanted nozuchi turned to dust. Everything was completely silent, so when Kagome spoke, her voice echoed like a message from the divine.

"Dammit Sesshoumaru, look! If I can kill one of them that easily then you certainly can! Stop feeling sorry for yourself and DO SOMETHING!!!"

"Kill her." Said Wakarazuya. Two more of the nozuchi sped towards her from different sides. The miko grabbed onto Kirara and darted away just in time, but they continued to chase her with lightning fast speed. There was not enough time for her to notch an arrow, so she had to settle for smacking the creatures with her bow when they came too close.

"Sesshoumaru!" She called, half-panicked.

"He cannot help you, miko." The Eastern Lord spoke. "My nozuchi have drained all the youki from him. He's as good as dead."

The miko dealt the monster rushing at her an anger-filled blow and it reared back in pain as one of its eyes disintegrated.

Meanwhile, the youkai in question stared at the miko in something akin to wonder. She had killed one of them. She was injuring them even as they sought her. They were afraid... They were afraid of a weak, smiling human. Her words touched a part of him that he had thought was gone. Kagome. She was fighting them for him... Kagome. She had come all this way for him. Kagome. And here he was doing nothing.

There was a moment in which there was nothing; then came the blessedly familiar feeling of power rushing into every vein. His eyes burned briefly as they flashed red. And then there was a very small smile...

Kagome's arm burned and her shoulder ached. She couldn't keep this up much longer. She was already exhausted. The nozuchi were pretty strong. One of her hands was permanently clutched in Kirara's mane. The huge cat helped by pulling her out of the way of fatal blows, but she could tell the neko was tiring. It seemed for a moment that everything was hopeless, but then she heard a single clearly spoken word over all the cacophony that made her spirit soar.

"Dokkasou."

The nozuchi holding Sesshoumaru vibrated under the force put upon it. A green glow appeared and suddenly the creature was cleanly sliced in half lengthwise like someone unpeeling a banana. The body fell to the ground with two muted thuds and immediately began to hiss and sizzle as the poison did its work. A tattered, gleaming demon lord slowly stood from a crouched position, one hand glowing like a lamp. Very carefully, each digit on the toxic claw flexed, and then triumphant gold eyes stared into electric blue.

"Beware."

Once that single word was spoken, Sesshoumaru disappeared, narrowly avoiding a nozuchi blow. He leapt backwards onto one shoulder of the giant statue with the creature following him. The moonlight glistened of the Buddha's bronze surface and the stars that could be seen in the urban atmosphere shone like madness. In that simple moment something was recaptured. The nozuchi lunged. A golden strip of light hissed into being. With a whoosh and a crack, the two collided. And the nozuchi fell back. Two forceful lashings from the youkai lord, forced the creature to retreat. Sesshoumaru stood alone on the shoulder of Amida Buddha staring down upon his enemies.

And then a miko screamed out of reflex and his form winked out like a candle.

"Holy freakin' crap!" Kagome gasped as one of the monsters came within an inch of snapping her arm off. She leaned back heavily against Kirara and in response, the firecat collapsed.

"Kirara!" The miko cried. With a poof the faithful youkai transformed back into her smaller self and lay on the ground without so much as a twitch. Kagome picked her up and tucked the prone body into the front of her robe. Then she took a moment to survey the situation. Two of the nozuchi were dead. Of the three that remained, two were wounded, but even she noted this, the wounds began to heal. Suddenly, a form loomed up in her peripheral vision and she realized, a little too late, that she had lost sight of the third, unwounded youkai. She turned and stared into a maw filled with rows upon rows of glinting teeth and let out a scream.

It was then a comfortingly warm arm wrapped itself around her waist and the scene in front of her melted away like nothing. Then, in an instant, she was standing on the shoulder of the great statue. It took only a glance to confirm that the arm that was still wrapped around her waist belonged to Sesshoumaru. As she looked at him she suddenly felt something akin to wonder. There was nothing especially different about him. The same gilded eyes, same sanguine lids, same slanted ears, same snowy hair, same wine-colored stripes, and the same crescent moon. And yet... His eyes shone... There seemed to be more life in him than she had ever seen before. Hesitantly, she looped an arm around his neck.

"They are still coming miko." He spoke softly, but she could easily hear him. She nodded in response and let her eyes wander over to the three demon lords.

"They're not really here..." She mused aloud. Despite the change of subject, the inu youkai seemed to know what she was talking about.

"Wakarazuya's black magic." He rumbled, "They are but a watching illusion."

A nozuchi lunged and Sesshoumaru batted it back.

"But wait a minute. If he's not here, then how's he maintaining the spell at a distance? Naraku had to use his puppets to do that kind of thing."

Sesshoumaru blinked in response. There was something in what she was saying... Too long had he simply accepted his enemy's power as just the way of things. The time had come to seek out a reason. And it was then that through all the intermingling scents of the nozuchi, the city around them, and the miko at his side, he identified a singular whiff of another scent.

"Your sacred arrows can break any spell you so choose, correct?" He looked down into her eyes even as he continued dodging. Kagome blinked up at her for a moment before nodding.

"Yes... I think so..."

"Very well then. Ready your bow."

And then before she hardly had enough time to process what he had said and follow his instructions, in a dazzling display of agility and speed he easily moved past the nozuchi to where the lords and the servant sat. All at once they loomed over Saguru...

The expectant nudge he gave her did not go unheeded. The miko aimed at the spy and fired. Saguru's eyes widened in momentary shock before he came to his senses and sprang away at the last possible second. Parts of his billowing sleeves disintegrated as he made his escape. Kagome's arrow, which had struck the ground, continued to pulsate, glowing blue. Rings of energy flowed out like ripples in a pond. They extended out till they hit both the figures of the three lords and the remaining nozuchi. The result was instantaneous.

Immediately, the images of the lords began to flicker, like a television channel with bad reception. Likewise, the nozuchi noticeably quieted down and began demurely looking about. A few moments later, they started shrinking rapidly. The white scales, eyes, and a good amount of teeth simply faded away, and suddenly all that remained were three pale yellow, blind, cow-sized worms that let out pitiful squeaks and slithered off towards the woods as fast as they could.

Kagome blinked rapidly, shocked. 'Saguru.' She realized. 'Saguru was Wakarazuya's only connection to here. He's controlling the spell through him!' For a moment she marveled at Sesshoumaru. Had it been Inuyasha, he never would have figured it out so quickly. Even as she mused, the Western Lord snapped over to the location to which the spy had retreated and attempted to slice him in half. Saguru barely dodged. He clutched his arm, where the merciless inu's youki whip had cut him and breathing heavily, disappeared into the night.

Kagome felt Sesshoumaru's growl rumble through her as he stared piercingly at where his enemy had once stood. Then, as if coming to a decision, still holding her, he flew up into the clouds and away from the battlefield.

Meanwhile, a blue-eyed neko youkai filled with rage stared at an image even as it flickered out of being. This was not over...

Not by a long shot.

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Ok. Read and review!

Tata, JJ


	10. Eye of the Moon

It is I, Jjah-Jjah! And yes, I know, I haven't updated in a coon's age. All I can say is sorry, and I've had a lot of college evilness to put up with. And just so you know, I'm taking Chemistry this coming semester and it's the stuff of evil legend, so I probably won't have a lot of time to update. I do have the next chapter planned out already though, so perhaps that will help. But I digress, on with the review!!!

DarkAngelB: Thank you for the review! Sorry it took me so long to update.

Mizukithepanda: Thank you! Inuyasha won't be in this little little story. At one point I was contemplating a sequel where everybody goes back to the past, about ten years after Kagome disappears, but it probably won't happen… Overconfident? If by that you're reffering to how there are no dividers between scenes/pov, I caught that after I posted. The evil website. First asterisks, now colons. I'm trying zeros now… Grown up Shippo! The title of the next chapter is going to be: Crazy like a Fox. Guess who shows up?

DarkRoseBlood: Thanks! I'm so glad you like the fighting scene, I was worried about it. The kimono will come into play… I don't know, but it won't be for a bit.

urban-angel007: Thank you! I've never really done a fighting scene before, so I'm glad you like. This chapter is the beginning of the kag-sess spark. Arrgh. I will try with the romance, but I'm not too good at it.

The Honest Reader: Yaaay! Thank you! You're a very nice person. Thanks you the review!

DemonWicca: Lol. Glad you're "hooked" to this. It makes me happy. Thank you for the review! If you're wondering about why Kirara collapsed, it was because the nozuchi suck out demon's energy just by being near them. So she fainted from being around them for too long.

busoshwe: Thank you! I've found so many awesome species of youkai in my research! I definitely can't fit them all in the story, but I'm sure gonna try!

Charms: (blushes) Why, thank you! I'm so glad that you decided to read this story. It really makes me feel nice to know that you consider this story special. I know exactly what you mean with all the horrible grammar and stuff. I hate bad grammar; one of my nicknames is English Teacher.

Ijin: Awww shucks. A piece of art? Thank you! You rock my socks!

Walis: Gee thanks! I'm glad you like Kirara. Hardly anybody puts her in stories. Tata!

Tenrai Shinju, Defafaeth Mechqua, soso, Sukera, Miko Sorrow, FurASmile, ricebaby, Silvanon of the Orchard, Mythra PenDragon, Tsuki Yume, Sora the Taske, spdsgirl, Vixey, Seijin, Emerald-Eyed-Faye, soul, wulfywolf5, Crispy, Mojo, Artemis of the Ice, Nova Alexandria, sandalwoods, evilduckie, inuyasha-n-kagome-rox142, Archangel Rhapsody, GoldenRat, Mystic Hanyou, Tokyobabe2040, distorted-desire, Tigeriskitty, Jasmine Fields, KagomeHigurashi16, RosieB, eVilxSnare, TheLightintheDarkness: Thank you all sooooo much for your reviews, I loved reading them!!! Thanks again!

And Disclaimer: I disclaim!

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Chapter Ten: Eye of the Moon

The first thing that came to her was the smell of the sea.

It was thick and heavy in her nostrils; so thick that she could taste it, as if it were a liquid. The next thing she became aware of was the sound of the waves, a soothing tempo. Brown eyes slowly opened to a world of salty mist over dark gray rock. She was lying on the ground. Kirara was curled up in a ball beside her, fast asleep. Kagome smiled at the little creature and ruffled her fur gently. The youki-draining nozuchi had been quite a challenge for the loyal youkai. She deserved some rest.

But the miko couldn't rest. She was tired, yes, but something swirling along with the sea spray was nipping at her tenaciously. Sleep was not allowed. While she scanned the endless mist surrounding, her mind wandered back to the recent battle. How long had she been asleep? The last thing she remembered was the youkai lord carrying her and the seashore glittering like diamonds in the moonlight as they glided through the upper atmosphere. Sesshoumaru. Where was he?

Silently, the miko stood, using her backpack, which was conveniently nearby, to steady herself. She looked at the pack for a moment, and then opened it and took out her first-aid kit. Then she picked a direction and walked into the gloom. After a while, the sound of the waves became heavier. Her steps became hesitant; she was afraid that she might walk right off a cliff since she couldn't see anything, but then a figure appeared in her line of vision like a ghost melting out of clouds. His back was to her and his hair floated softly in the wind. She stood and watched him for a few moments, hesitant about disturbing the magic of the moment. He had to know that she was there, but he gave no indication of it.

"Where are we?" She asked finally.

He answered without moving. "We are near Cape Tarai, the seashore eight kilometers east of Irozaki, on the southernmost tip of Izu." He didn't move for a few more moments, but then his head tilted back slightly. Kagome could see one gilded eye through the mask of his hair. She almost smiled; the tilt of his head was a distinctly canine movement. Then suddenly, gracefully, he turned and faced her, expressionless. But it was different than all the times he had stared at her before. Before there had been something wrong with the eyes. They had been empty and hollow like a tunnel stretching on for miles.

Now there was a…depth that was unfamiliar. In spite of herself, she was surprised. The change in him was sudden and absolute and completely disconcerting. She no longer knew where she stood in his eyes, and she supposed that that should scare her. However, she couldn't bring herself to be afraid. She knew, by some arcane instinct she knew, that the Sesshoumaru before her was not the same one who had sat under the Goshinboku and contemplated his own death. This Sesshoumaru, the one standing before her, was closer to the one who had ridden a two-headed dragon and wielded a sword that consciously thirsted for blood. Yet it didn't matter. He was more likely now than ever to snap her head off in one bite and all she could do was stare back at him in all his tattered glory.

And then he blinked. "You came after me…"

Kagome took in a deep breath of mist and smiled. "Of course I came after you."

"Why?"

And there was the simplest most enigmatic question known to all of mankind. Kagome had no idea how to answer.

She looked at him confusedly for a while, and then shook her head. "I don't know. I had to. There was no other option…" She trailed off and looked at the ground. Then suddenly she looked back up; he hadn't moved a muscle. Her corresponding smile shone with abrupt realization. "You're my friend. I care about you. If there's one thing I can say about myself with pride it's that I have never willingly abandoned a friend who needed me."

For a full minute there was nothing but silence and waves breaking somewhere out of sight and mind.

"You think that this Sesshoumaru needs you?"

The miko tilted her head in a mimicking gesture and smiled wider. "You are Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands, are you not?"

Very, very slowly, the Taiyoukai smiled.

And the miko nearly fainted. Who knew that he could let out such a triumphant shining grin? She had seen him smirk viciously in battle 500 years before, but this was different. Was his outer radiance as great as what she was glimpsing now?

"Yes. I am."

With those three little words all the sick feelings that had settled around her soul at how wrong his former countenance had been disappeared with an almost audible pop and the youkai lord suddenly found himself being stormed by a particularly happy little human miko.

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The last time he remembered being blatantly hugged Rin had done it. To say the least, it had been a long time ago. Yet here he was now, with something akin to hope pulsing through his veins along with the blood. This weak and insignificant human girl had done this for him, and for such an absurd reason. No matter which way he turned it in his mind it made less than sense. But then when had Kagome ever made any sense? The day the miko began to act logically would be the day that he dyed his hair orange. Even now she seemed to have somehow gleaned the turn of his thoughts for one of her hands was clutching a fistful of his locks as if in protest of any harm befalling them. Strangely enough, her oddness seemed to be infectious, for no matter how he tried he could not find it in himself to push her away. He, in the midst of reveling in his rediscovered power, could not suppress this single weakness. What was this nonsense?

The miko grabbed his arm and the spell was broken. With their close proximity it was impossible for her to miss the wince. She made a distressed sound as she appraised the ugly red wound that she had accidentally touched. Immediately she tugged him over to a rather flat looking rock a few feet behind them where the air smelled strongly of salt and seaweed. He looked down at her appraisingly as she dressed the single wound and went onto finding the numerous others he had acquired during his brief stint as a nozuchi chew toy. There wasn't any point in trying to dissuade her or remind her that he was, after all, a Taiyoukai with superior healing abilities. The injuries would all be mostly healed by morning, but the stubborn line of her mouth showed more than anything that she wouldn't listen. Sesshoumaru lifted his head to the wind and drew in a breath. He felt free at this altitude. He was pretty sure that Kagome had no idea that they were standing very near the edge of a rocky cliff overlooking the crashing waves. The thick fog made it impossible for her mortal eyes to see.

"There you go…" Kagome murmured, more to herself than to him.

"Indeed." He answered, flexing the bandages on his left hand that covered the small but deep cut on his palm. He stared at it for a moment, suddenly realizing that the bandage was a brighter shade of white than his haori. Once upon a time his clothing had been as light and fine as heavy snow. Once he had worn lunar silk, and now he wore the plain fraying garb of a shrine keeper. He said nothing. Soon enough his enemies would feel his claws in their throats and he would wear trappings befitting his station once again. As he mused, he noted Kagome stand and move a few steps away.

His hand shot out quicker than a blink and grabbed her arm. "What?" She asked, seemingly a tad annoyed. He didn't answer her. She didn't know that she had just been about to innocently jump off a cliff. He tilted his head to the side as he heard something in the distance and inwardly smiled.

Lord Sesshoumaru had never been one to leave a debt unpaid. It was then that he realized just how much Kagome had done for him. She had gone above and beyond any kind of call of duty. She had not only saved his life twice, she had, whether she realized it or not, saved his very soul. She had pulled out of the muck and grime that which essentially made up the being who was Sesshoumaru, polished it, and flung it back into the light. His grip loosened from her arm and skimmed its way down to her hand.

He had to do something.

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He was holding her hand…

He was holding her hand…

He was holding her hand and he had initiated it himself.

Dazedly, she looked around for flying pigs and the horsemen of the apocalypse. Around the time she realized that they weren't going to show, she felt the inu youkai tug at her limb and lead her through the mist into the unknown. She could not see his face. Why hadn't she looked at his expression when he had randomly taken her hand in his own?! She had frozen on the spot… On second thought it was probably a good thing that she could not she his face. If she couldn't see him, which meant that he probably couldn't see her, which was a good thing considering she was pretty sure that she was blushing. (Damn involuntary responses!) Unless he had eyes in the back of his head... Which was entirely within the realm of possibility… There was a kind of youkai that had a mouth in the back of its head, why not one with eyes? What was that kind of youkai called anyway? Bah. She was certainly glad she wasn't being tested on it. She shivered involuntarily. Evil, evil tests… She spent the rest of the short walk alternating between trying to remember the name of the wayward youkai species and waving her free hand behind Sesshoumaru's head to make sure he didn't have any extra eyeballs.

He stopped so abruptly, that she bumped into him making a soft 'oof' sound. The youkai turned and faced her, keeping possession of her hand.

"It is not over." She blinked at his words. He continued. "Wakarazuya will not stop hunting me after this defeat. If anything, his persecution will increase, for now he knows that I will be actively seeking him out. What will you do now? Will you go back to your shrine?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Please. I didn't go through all sorts of flack from you just to quit when the excitement starts."

He nodded. She knew that he knew what her answer was going to be. "Then fight we shall Kagome, miko. The battle we face will be glorious."

And suddenly out of the clouds around them a huge flock of white seagulls emerged. They swam through the air, surrounding the two figures with their eerie calls, the whistling of their wings, and lightning flashes of sea foam colored feathers. For a moment there was the illusion that they were in the midst of a living blizzard and then, it was over. The only indication that there had been anything there was the cry of a single gull that carried like a ghost's lament. Kagome smiled, tangible wonder etched into her features, all the while oblivious to the scrutiny she was under. She looked up, where the fog was beginning to clear, and noticed the full moon.

"Look." She said, and pointed.

Sesshoumaru turned his gaze towards the object of her attention. The moon was round and yellow. Nothing more.

"It's like the Kaze no Kizu! See?"

Sure enough, four deep purple strips of cloud were slowly roving across the moon's face. They actually were strangely similar to the scars that the attack of the infamous sword had once left in the earth.

And so the two of them stood there, under a moon that reflected images of the past. The mist drifted, the waves sang, and the memory of sea-bird's wings kept the air trembling…

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Yay! Thank you so much for reading this! I originally wanted to the bird scene with Japanese cranes, but then I found out that there are only about ten of those in the wild right now. Ten doesn't make a very spectacular flock, so sea gulls… Ok then, hope you like! Please read and review!

Tata, JJ


	11. Crazy Like a Fox

It is I, Jjah-Jjah! Can you believe it?

I haven't updated for sooo long. I'm sorry! College is hell. I mean that. None of you people go to college. Become goat-herders or something constructive like that.

At least now it's summer. I have three months of utter freedom, in which I get to get my drivers license and get my wisdom teeth removed. Isn't it lovely that I'm in college and don't have a drivers license? I just look at it by thinking about all the people I've saved from being run over. And I'm thinking about maybe writing a chapter when I get my wisdom teeth removed. Under the influence of mind-numbing pain and heavy duty painkillers, maybe I'll write something extraordinary. Who knows? Ok then. Review and disclaimer….

RosieB: Thank you for reviewing! I think Sesshouamru will start out repaying his debt by keeping her around, because she wants to stay. After that… Who knows?

Thing that goes bump: Oh me, oh my… Thank you so much! I wish words did flow from my fingertips. Then I would be able to get these chapters posted faster… Ah well… Thank you again:D

DemonWicca: Wow. You sound more tired than I am. Thanks for the review!

urbanangel: I'm actually not that smart considering I finally dropped Chemistry because I was flunking it. Heh. Yep. There are really only ten cranes left in the wild. Another realm? Other than the realm of fan fiction, no. I've tried to set this thing in actual modern Japan. If you want to get from Tokyo to Kamakura, you really can take the JR Yokosuka line. So if I'm going to make the locations authentic, might as well make the populations of animals authentic, too. Anyway, thanks for the review, tata!

drow goddess: Thanks for the review! I guess it was kind of sweet, wasn't it? Blerg. At least it came across that way; I'm not very good at writing this thing they call 'romance'. Well, I'm trying…

Elmo kinns: OMG! You're the first person to get the reference! YOU ROCK!

Striking Falcon: Thank you! And it's not over! I never said it was over! Gah! Thank you so much for you compliments, they made my day. Well, night… Whatever.

Mizukithepanda: AHHHH! Not the bunnies! Hiss! But thank you for the review, I'm flattered. Well, I guess it's just going to be long. Not crazy-long. I hate crazy-long stories. Sesshoumaru still has to get his fluffy thing back, Kagome has to befriend the evil weasels, and there has to be a showdown at Mt Fuji, just like in the Godzilla movies… Plus there's the whole developing romance thing. And Shippo is back, be happy!

DarkAngelB: Thanks a lot! Hope you did well with your karate stuff. Sorry about not updating for so long. School is evil. 'Night.

Walis: Yay! You rock. No one has ever complimented my opening before! Thank you for reviewing.

hyper person: I think that cranes kind of screech. Like a rusty hinge or something… I dunno…

LtSonya: Wow. Thank you. I think I'm gonna cry.

CultKagome and Sesshomaru: I gave Kagome an outlet for her powers in something other than an arrow in this chapter just for you. Enjoy! Awesome pen name by the way.

busoshwe: How long is a 'coon's age? I dunno. That's just my hickishness shining through. Thanks for the review!

Harper Grey: Huzzah for wackiness! Thank you for the review! Yay!

Great Materia Hunter Yuffie: Yay! I have good taste! Awesome. I think you're the first person to review me cross genres. You rock!

Nova Alexandria, Silvanon of the Orchard, Eternal Wanderer, GoldenRat, Taiyo, Sakura Tenyaiga, sandalwoods, chibi-kag, Sukera, Mystic Hanyou, Maggie, evilduckie, Zackire, Just call me Blue, Soso, Inuyasha'smistress, atashi-wa-Yume, Joshua Glass, Fluffy-Luver978, Sora the Taske, lil, Resmiranda, Kyoufan17, Fire Phoenix, MercilessAngel, Golden-Eyed-Girl, evil-green-faery, ChIbI rIn, Youka-chan, The Honest Reader, exclipein, Sintar, confused dolphin, Kaichai, Artemis of the Ice, Black-hole-dOWn, sheenachi, Blue Dove, Culebra, kawaiipnay, Psychic Realms, SexySayainSakura, Shayaineth, renyun, Noacat, Morally Bankrupt, Rosebark, rageangel126, Trouble In Shangri-La, Jessi Tsuki, Me, Lilliana, cyclonegal112: Thank you all so much for your reviews! I love ya all!

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Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, several bishonen characters would be living in a cave under my bed… Alas and alack… Moving on.

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Chapter 11: Crazy Like a Fox

Kirara's wildcat cry echoed over the treetops sending birds scattering from their perches.

Kagome yawned and stretched every joint popping. Sleeping on rock was not very restful. She blinked sleepily and leaned forward so that her face was buried in the firecat's mane. Sleeping was a good and nice activity and she was going to perform it right now…

"Mreow!" Kirara scolded. Kagome jolted back to consciousness and glared at the feline she was riding. Yes, falling asleep while you're flying fifty or so feet in the air probably wasn't the smartest of ideas, but she was tired damnit! The miko groaned aloud and scanned the ground below for Sesshoumaru. He was not there; she hadn't really expected him to be.

As it was, they were heading towards the nearest city, Shimoda, noted in history as being the port where Commodore Perry's "black ships" had landed, ending Japan's era of isolation. She had never heard anything else about the city and she had never been there. Sesshoumaru had gone on ahead to scout. He had explained that Wakarazuya was well aware of the range to which his rival could fly and would send out his servants looking for them accordingly. It was only a matter of time before they were found.

But at the moment, Kagome didn't give a damn. She needed a bath, and if she had to tear apart the whole of Shimoda with a pair of tweezers, by golly, she was going to take one. She had expected Sesshoumaru to protest; she had expected him to act like his brother, but she had been somewhat pleasantly surprised. (Pleasantly, because he agreed to her request, somewhat, because afterwards he made an obtuse remark about her smelling bad.) It was just as if the night before had never happened; minus the radical personality change, of course. She didn't really care; she would start to get irritated until after she was clean, not before.

The little city appeared on the horizon soon enough, and before they got too close Kirara landed and transformed back into her kitten form, setting the miko afoot. Slowly, they walked into the midst of the buildings and down the quaint little streets. It was actually a rather nice little place. Apparently, the entire deal with the black ships was the place's main tourist attraction, because there were models of black ships or "kurofune" everywhere. Kagome stopped and looked at one of the larger ones, wondering briefly what her friends in the feudal era would have thought of such a thing. As she stared at the polished black masts Kirara let out a soft warning mew and the miko looked about and realized that everyone was watching her. She stiffened and rubbed the back of her head, laughing embarrassedly and then slunk off. Of course she was going to call attention! After all, she had been chasing a discombobulated youkai lord, fighting a hoard of evil worm monsters, flying all over the place, and sleeping on a rocky beach. She was not at her best to say the least.

They began to pass a certain building when the miko stopped abruptly. Her cleanliness sense was tingling. She looked, and lo and behold beside her looked to be some sort of health club. Where there were health clubs, there was exercising and where there was exercising there were sweaty people and where there were sweaty people there were showers. Kagome laughed evilly and crept towards the entrance, but stopped short when a sharp featured man stationed just inside the door shot her a poisonous glare. Apparently it was members only.

Like that was going to stop her.

A few moments later Kagome scrambled frantically into the building and darted down a hallway after Kirara set a potted plant by the door aflame as a distraction. Both miko and firecat tiptoed further into the building dodging patrons as they went. It was a few moments after Kagome began humming the mission impossible theme song that she found the object of her desire.

"Muahahaha…" She chuckled quietly. They had found a locker room with showers. There were no witnesses in the area, so she once again utilized Kirara by using her to melt a lock off one of the lockers, scoring some shampoo and conditioner. After seizing a fluffy white towel, Kagome swept into the showers cackling all the way. Soon steam began to fill the room and Kirara settled down on a pile of towels for a quick rest.

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"Ahhh! I feel wonderful!" Kagome grinned.

Kirara gave a little purr of agreement from the miko's sheltering arms. It had actually turned into a rather nice day. There was not a cloud in the sky. The calls of the gulls from the nearby seashore were punctuated at intervals by the chirrups of songbirds. The little city was bustling; it was summer after all, and tourism was at its peak.

Kagome absently brushed a wrinkle out of her light gray tank top as she peered in a store window. Since her miko robes were dirty, she had changed into some regular street clothes until she could get her robe washed. It was fairly simple, the tank top, an old pair of blue-jean capris, and a pair of practical hiking sandals. At least she had the distinction of not standing out in a crowd, which would make things easier.

She sighed and looked around. Well, she might as well take in the sights while she wandered around. No doubt Sesshoumaru would randomly appear at some point of his own choosing to collect her, so she didn't worry about the time. For the moment she and Kirara were free to do whatever in the heck they wanted.

It was at that moment that both their stomachs growled.

"Is that barbecue I smell?" Kagome asked her furry counterpart.

"Mew!" said Kirara, nodding enthusiastically. They both scurried around for a little while, following their noses, till they found a quaint little grill cart parked on the side of the road that was selling delicious looking skewers of spicy barbecued chicken. Needless to say, they both pigged out.

It was around the time that they were finishing that Kagome felt something strange. It was a feeling comparable to having a loose eyelash, dangling, just about ready to fall in your eye. She shrugged it off as simply being a muscle twitch from sleeping on rocks all night, and walked off towards Perry Street.

Perry Street was apparently one of the city's major attractions if the advertisements she had seen were any indication. There were supposed to be cafes and boutiques and other stores and junk. Who knew? Maybe there was a Laundromat. Kagome began to walk around the bow end of a particularly impressive kurofune model, black lacquered and shining in the sun, when the weird feeling returned with a vengeance. It washed over her in a malevolent wave, and over the firecat as well; Kirara suddenly went rigid, fluffed up, and hissed, digging her little claws into Kagome's arm and leaving bloody welts. It was the unmistakable feeling of being watched…

The miko stopped where she stood and looked through the constantly moving crowd flowing around as if looking for a flaw in a mirror. Then her eyes met those of the figure standing as still as she. Dead eyes. Those eyes had no soul behind them. Even Kikyo's eyes had a glimmer, perhaps captured from all those souls she consumed. These eyes had never been alive… Then she looked at the face, and her heart skipped a beat, carried off by a little trill of fear. The face was that of the neko youkai Wakarazuya, but it was not him… This figure's features, everything about him was paler. It was like watercolors spread out too thin over white paper. There were also the facts that he was dressed in normal, if a bit traditional, clothes and his hair was cut short. This was not the Eastern lord, but it belonged to him.

For a moment an acknowledgement of one another passed between them; the acknowledgement between predator and prey…

Then Kagome hauled ass.

"Shit!"

Great. Just great. Here she was, being chased by an unknown thing-a-ma-bob, through a city she was completely unfamiliar with, she couldn't whip out her trusty bow and arrows in plain sight, neither could Kirara transform, and Sesshoumaru was MIA. Whoop de frikken doo, it was most certainly a beautiful day…

She felt kind of bad about pushing so many people rudely aside, they probably though she was nuts. 'Maybe.' She thought, 'Just maybe, I might be able to lose him the crowd…'

Yeah right… When did that ever happen? You never lose the evil monster in the crowd. It's against the rules! So, of course, as soon as she began to feel the tiniest bit safe, the same figure seemed to melt out of the crowd in front of her. Her breath seized in throat and she abruptly changed direction.

And there was another one.

She whipped her head back and forth. There were indeed two of them, completely identical. What the hell was going on? They were smiling at her as if she were dessert. Eeep. She looked back in the direction she had been running from. It was further away than the others, and her view was obstructed by the crowd, but the first figure she had seen was still visible. She could see three of them; who knew how many more of them were out there, watching her? The strange feeling she had been having tripled in intensity under the awareness. She felt like prickly little blades of grass were moving through her bloodstream. It was an unpleasant sensation to say the least.

She turned toward what had her only open avenue of escape, only to find that yet another Wakarazuya copy was there, smiling at her. Why didn't anyone notice them? They were four completely identical unnaturally pale people that seemed to float when the moved and somehow avoided being jostled by all the people passing them! You'd think that that might raise an eyebrow or two, but no one seemed to notice how strange they were. There wasn't any sort of spell; she would have easily sensed a barrier or something like that. She now understood how it might be possible for a youkai to survive in the modern world. No one noticed anything. Youkai, in the modern psyche, simply did not exist. Nothing, not even a youkai dancing the can-can in front of you, could change that fact. What people didn't understand, they simply didn't see.

Boxed in as they were, Kagome wondered how in the hell they were going get away, but then her prayers were answered when a delivery truck rumbled by only a few inches away from her. The miko grabbed onto the back of the vehicle and watched as her pursuers faded away. For the moment. She wasn't stupid enough as to think that they would quit chasing her so easily. Too soon, the truck rumbled to a halt in front of an office building. Before the driver could even open the door to his cab, she had jumped off the back, and had sprinted through the building's doors.

A few people looked at her strangely, and the lady at the front desk asked her what her business was, but Kagome simple muttered something about having to go to the bathroom and headed towards the stairs. Stairs were, after all, her natural habitat. She had a distinct advantage. Too bad the stairwell had windows.

Just as she was midway up the staircase, a window at the base shattered inward and three of the Wakarazuya clones glided in and began ascending towards her.

"Damn it!" She shrieked. Kirara had moved to her shoulder, and looked ready to attack. Desperate for a weapon of any kind to bolster her courage, Kagome ripped a fire extinguisher off the wall.

"Stop right there!" She growled. They hesitated, perhaps not understanding why their prey wasn't running. "Before you do anything else, you've got to ask yourself, 'Do I feel lucky?'" She unhooked the hose of the fire extinguisher and pointed it at them.

The three of them looked at each other, perhaps in incredulity, perhaps in silent conversation, and then they all lunged forward faster than a blink. Fueled by reflex alone, Kagome pulled out the start pin and fired her weapon. What happen right after that, she never quite understood. It may have had something to do with the raw panic, or the adrenaline, but she suddenly felt her fingertips burn, and the white chemical spray turned phosphorescent blue.

She watched as the one that had come closest to her as its eyes widened, and then as it was engulfed and dissolved. The other two veered off at the last second, one retreating out the window, and the other leaping up and sticking to the ceiling. That didn't last for long, as Kirara leaped up and transformed briefly, which seemed to be enough to scare it off.

As the firecat returned to her smaller self and sniffed at the remains of the thing the miko had destroyed. Kagome stared at the empty stairwell in disbelief.

"Did I just purify a fire extinguisher?" She asked the neko. Kirara mewed absently in reply. "Hot damn…" Kagome plopped down onto a step and blinked confusedly. She watched as Kirara nosed around in the ashes left behind, picked something up in her mouth and bounded over.

"What have you got there?" She murmured, holding out her hand so that she could receive the object. It was paper. Merely scraps of rather familiar looking paper.

"Shikigami…" The miko breathed. She remembered well the shikigami of the kuro-miko, Tsubaki. Sesshoumaru had mentioned that Wakarazuya was an onmyouji, hadn't he? Onmyoujin were notorious for using shikigami to do their bidding. At least now she knew what she was up against… There was a tapping at the wall, signaling the end of her reverie. Kirara jumped up onto her shoulder and they made for the building's roof.

After the door swung open, Kagome poked her head out, and looked left, right, up, and down. No shikigami were in sight. Of course, that probably meant that they had all congregated right out of her line of sight waiting for her make a move, so that they could swoop down and suck out her blood or something evil like that. But she couldn't just hole up where she was, now could she? So, after a moment to bolster her courage, she sprinted out of the doorway and to the edge of the roof, not daring to stop and look around too closely.

Lucky thing for her the buildings were so close together. She leapt across to the roof of the next building and immediately shimmied down the fire escape. Once she reached the end, she jumped the few to the ground. The sudden landing sent a shock of pain through her knees, but she still started running as soon as her feet hit the pavement. She was actually quite surprised when she emerged onto Perry Street.

It was actually kind of pretty, too bad that she had to see it under such crappy circumstances. The road was divided in two by a canal running down the middle. Willow trees and tourists were everywhere, along with a plethora of cute little boutiques and cafes. Damn. Why did there have to be so many people? They could get hurt! Even as she though it, she stumbled and fell as something slammed into her from the side. She skidded for a bit, and scowled up at the shikigami looking down at her. She looked to see if there were any places close that she could run to so that she could see the weirdoes coming. The closest thing was a little green restaurant, with the name 'Masshuru-mu' scrawled across the front in elegant calligraphy. It would do.

Kagome jumped up and ran into the building as fast as she could. She had hoped that the shikigami wouldn't follow her directly into such a public place, but the rattling of the door made that voice made that hope die. Perhaps it was because since the destruction of one of their number, they had realized that their prey, despite being human, had a bite. They couldn't take any chances with her anymore.

She didn't want to take the chance of getting too many patrons killed, so just as the front door snapped open, she made a bee-line for the kitchen. All the white clad chefs turned and looked at her, some seemly peeved. She took no notice of them, her attention elsewhere. There was a door at the far side of the kitchen. Perhaps it led outside. She sprinted towards it, unaware of the body that stepped innocently into her path.

Kagome let out a surprised sound at the collision, and almost fell until lithe arms surrounded her.

"Hello miss, are you alright? This area is employees only."

She looked up into kind, green eyes framed by wisps of reddish hair poking out from underneath a chef's hat. The young man was dressed slightly different from all the others; where all the other employees were completely in white, his pants were patterned. Maybe he was some macho supreme chef or something. He smelled like sugar. Kagome swallowed on reflex, had she seen those eyes somewhere before? Her musing was interrupted as Kirara suddenly went wild, and jumped over to his shoulder, mewing and purring mightily. His eyes, which had only been polite before, widened considerably. As the kitchen door suddenly exploded with splintering force, she couldn't hear what he said, but she made it out as his mouth moved around the word.

"Kirara?"

The miko couldn't wait any longer. She ripped herself out of the stranger's grasp and headed for the door, four shikigami right behind her. As she emerged onto a back alley right next to a dumpster, she shrieked.

"Oh crap, I'm so screwed!"

She was right. Almost immediately she felt a cold hand grab onto her shoulder, digging into the skin, and hauling her upwards with such speed that her stomach gave a painful lurch. The rushing air bit at her, till she found herself tossed onto roof of the closest building. She skidded for several feet and hit the ledge with a clearly audible thud. 'Damn.' She thought. "I'm definitely going to feel that tomorrow… If there is a tomorrow…' She looked around and nearly stopped breathing at what she saw.

Shikigami were everywhere. They stood on the roof, they floated in the air, they sat on random objects, and all smiling at her. She had read somewhere that onmyoujin were only able to control a maximum of twelve shikigami at one time. Apparently that figure had only applied to human onmyoujin. Kirara yowled and bared her suddenly saber teeth in a burst of angry flame.

The shikigami weren't stupid. That much was apparent immediately. They knew that paper and fire did not mix, and thus stayed well without of striking distance. Kirara could have taken to the air, and chased them down, but she didn't. She kept her mistress, the miko, behind her, using herself as a barrier. Any of them who tried a frontal assault would not live to regret it. Unfortunately, the shikigami had other plans.

One of them, in a fluid lightning-fast movement, lashed his arm out like a whip. The thin appendage extended as if it was made of rubber, and hit the firecat hard on her unprotected flank. Kirara roared in pain and stumbled back into her smaller form. It was one hell of a paper cut, blood was everywhere. Immediately, Kagome shrugged off the backpack and tried to get her bow and arrows out, but just as she opened it another shikigami whipped it out of her grasp.

Now, there was no defense, no arrows, and no random fire extinguishers. The washed-out figures moved closer, sweeping down for the kill. At least until several of them were sliced cleanly in half…

Kagome looked up and glared. "Where the hell have you been!"

Sesshoumaru looked at her dispassionately. "While we're asking questions, might I ask what it was you did to bring them all down upon you so?"

"I didn't do anything! Wait a second, look!" She pointed at the fluttering halves of the shikigami, as they began to glow. Each separate half slowly morphed into a whole creature, leaving twice as many as there had been before.

The youkai lord swore softly and Kagome took a moment to pick up Kirara, whose eyes were closed in pain. "Now what?" She whispered.

"Now, they cease to be." Sesshoumaru intoned smoothly. He flexed a claw as it began to glow green. Once he had determined that there was enough poison, he swung his arm in a graceful arc, sending venomous green mist flying. The shikigami that were hit crumbled almost instantaneously, but many of them kept floating father back, causing the inu to summon vaster amounts of toxin to reach them.

When the burning first started in Kagome's eyes, she tried to ignore it, but then it spread to her throat, and her heartbeat doubled in intensity. She fell to her knees and coughed, loudly. Sesshoumaru glanced at her and she saw his eyes widen. He immediately withdrew his poison. As the air cleared, the miko realized what had happened. She hadn't been dropped on this particular rooftop on accident, it had been planned.

They currently had their back to a stone awning of some kind, which shielded that section of the roof from the weather and the wind was blowing towards them. Wakarazuya's minions had chosen this spot, because they knew that the only way Sesshoumaru could kill them was to use his poison to consume them completely. However, he couldn't use his poison while Kagome stood upwind, and it blew back towards her. It was a fine trap indeed.

Still coughing softly, she moved a little bit closer to Sesshoumaru. "I don't suppose you can run over and get my backpack really quick…" She queried.

"They are as fast as I am…" answered the lord, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly as the shikigami began to come closer. She felt his muscles stiffen, even though she could not see it. Sesshoumaru was coiled like a spring. She saw his right hand flex instinctively. Was he wishing he had Tokijin, now? She certainly wished he did. She also wished that she had a cigarette lighter and some hairspray… Too bad the Taiyoukai couldn't breathe fire; that would have killed the hell out of all of them… She swallowed, trying to dissipate the burning lump, just as one shikigami raised its arm to strike.

"You know, fifty against two aren't really horribly fair odds…"

The shikigami stopped and looked at the owner of the new voice. Kagome's eyes widened. There, standing on the edge of the roof behind the paper monsters was the chef she had bumped into earlier. His chef's hat was gone, leaving wisps of scrappy red blowing in the wind, and he was toying with something green in his hands. He smiled a nostalgic smile, which suddenly changed into a frown as he looked at the shikigami.

"You guys ruined my kitchen… All my pastries, cakes, tortes… All sorts of wonderful sugary goodness that'll never see the light of day…" He stopped, sighed, stepped down off the ledge and smiled once again, a smile that was distinctly inhuman. "But you know, I could forgive you that, if not for one little thing."

He held out the green thing, a leaf. Sesshoumaru looked at him in blatant mistrust, while the miko stared with dawning recognition.

"You hurt Kagome…"

He placed the leaf on his forehead and there was a cloud of light. When the smoke cleared, an entirely different figure stood there.

The same green eyes, but slightly more slanted. Pointed ears poked out of long, silky-looking hair done up in a tail. He had fangs, was tall, though not so much as Sesshoumaru, and wore a green and blue kimono that looked as if it dated from about a century after the feudal era. A lusciously bushy cream-colored tail twitched slightly, perhaps from excitement. Yet perhaps the strangest things of all were several glowing blue-green orbs surrounding him. There were about fifteen in all, burning merrily. Kagome realized what they were at once.

They were hitodama, a species of youkai also known as Willo-the-wisps. They were known to dwell in graveyards, and other such places. They were also known to follow and help people of great spiritual power and were often used by kitsune, like the one standing before them. As soon as she realized what the orbs were, she knew who the kitsune was.

"Shippo!"

"None other!" The grinning kitsune bowed, and smiled directly at her. "And now," he leapt in the air, "Kitsune Bi!"

Half of the miko, upon hearing those familiar words, expected to see the familiar brilliant, yet ultimately harmless fires of Shippo's youth. Nothing prepared her for the roaring explosion of blue flame. The shikigami didn't stand a chance. They were consumed and reduced to ashes in only a few moments. Then, as suddenly as the fire came, it was gone, leaving not a scorch mark or a fleck of ash.

Shippo landed a few feet from them, and Kagome ran out before Sesshoumaru could protest. She dodged the hitodama hesitantly and leapt into the arms of her adopted son.

"Shippo, Shippo, Shippo! My sweet little devious angel! I missed you! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry…" She broke off into tears.

The five hundred and nine year old kitsune held the raven-haired weeping human in his arms.

"I know, Kagome. It's alright. I know…"

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Alrighty then. I hope you guys like the way I did Shippo. What always gets me is whenever you see future portrayals of Shippo, he's always such a wuss. Yet from what we see of him as a child, we see he's brave, and smart, and he wants to become a warrior so he can help his friends. Ah well. Till the next chapter then.

Tata, JJ.


	12. Cramp My Style

It is I, Jjah-Jjah! Here I am again. And I'm going to sincerely try to get this darned thing finished before I have to go back to school again. (Hiss). I don't care what anyone says, school is evil. Ok then. Bang a gong, we are on: Let's go on to reviews!

Sintar: Yes, yes school evil. I'm gonna try to finish this thang! I'm going to try putting summaries of the next chapter at the end of each chapter to motivate myself… Muaha…

Mizukithepanda: You're insane, but I like you anyway. I have not read that particular fanfiction… I'll have to try that…

Dark Inuyoukai: Huzzah! I'm glad you like Shippo! Thanks for reviewing!

RosieB: Yes, in this chapter we find out what happened to all the others! And thank you for the wisdom teeth advice. It actually wasn't too bad though. It didn't hurt that bad, I barely bled, didn't bruise or swell up… But I did drink lots of milkshakes… I like milkshakes…

cyclonegal12: Actually, I think I'm going to bring back Kouga and Ayame and all them in the next chapter… A spark to add to Sesshoumaru's jealousy, perhaps.. We shall see.

busoshwe: Lol. You're weird. Thank you! Perhaps you'll fall out of your chair this time as well!

concealed amber: Chocolate! Yay! Thank you! I don't really like fics where Kagome is turned into a youkai either. Some of the ones where she's a kitsune are cool, but all the others change her appearance and make her look like Sesshoumaru or whatever. Just leave her the way she is people, I say!

Mystic Hanyou: Yes! Soon Sesshoumaru's jealousy will explode! But not this chapter…

Noali: Yay! Thanks so much! Glad you like the story:D

The Honest Reader: Splendiferous! I love your reviews, they always make me feel so nice:D Renewed your fondness for Inuyasha? My day in complete. Muahahaha! Yay.

LtSonya: Thank you! I'm glad you liked Shippo's entrance. I worked hard on that; I'm really trying to do things that haven't been done before. And I don't think I could write a perfectly serious Kagome. Besides, she doesn't have to worry about Naraku or gathering shards anymore, so she should be able to loosen up.

BelleDayNight: Here's the next chapter! Gah, I wish my boy friend had held my hand or done something sweet like that. All mine ever did was buy me soda and have someone else bring it to my room… And then expect snogging privileges… Where the hell are all the Sesshoumarus in the world, why do I keep getting Inuyashas? Ahem, thanks for the review!

FurASmile: Thank you, I'm glad you liked my ideas! Yay!

Faerlyte: Alright, I'm flattered! You should go watch some Inuyasha!

Seijin: Actually, one of the lords being a kitsune is, in fact deliberate. But Shippo isn't tricking anyone, don't worry. It's more like, fight fox-fire with fox-fire, if you know what I mean…

Dark Neko17: I'm glad you like! I hope you like this chapter, too!

Shitsumon: Yay! Thank you! I'm glad you like my grammar skills, being an English major had finally paid off…

Noacat, Tsuki Yume, Comechatcha, Sukera, Joshua Glass, Me, Silvanon of the Orchard, renyun, GoldenRat, ChIbI rIn, BlueFrost, sheenachi, shadows-insanity, PippetJimmy, Trouble In Shangri-La, DeathIsntTheEnd, myeerah, SweetyDream, Nova Alexandria, lynnie6, GoldenEyedGirl, Chelsea, leeann, CelticGoddess, KJ., Duzzie, Queen-Of-The-Shadow, Culebra, Celira, kari konoko, Angelfire412, DAYLE-CHAN, lisa, Dark Lady Shi no Megami, Miranda, WriterOfDragons, Lua Haunted: Thank you so much for all these reviews! I love you guys and sincerely hope you don't die anytime soon! ;D

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Disclaimer: I'm hungry and I need to take a shower. I don't own Inuyasha. So there…

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Chapter 12: Cramp My Style

Once upon a time, there was a young maiden who was extraordinarily beautiful. She was also extraordinarily kind, gentle, and generous. Everyone who met her couldn't help but smile…

One day, she married a powerful samurai whom she was very much in love with. From that point on, everything should have been happily ever after, but it was not to be. Unfortunately, the samurai was a very jealous man, and somehow it got into his head that his wife was having an affair. Enraged, he attacked her, and with his sword cut her mouth from ear to ear. "No one will find you beautiful now!" He cried.

Fueled by anger and sadness, the young maiden henceforth became the youkai known as the Kuchisake-Onna, slit-mouth woman. She wanders the streets of Japan on foggy nights with her face covered and asks random passersby a question.

"Do you think that I'm beautiful?"

If the person says yes, she uncovers her face and asks the question again. If the person shows any disgust or fear, and tries to run away, she will chase them down with lightning-fast speed and repay their unkindness by doing the same thing to them that her husband did to her.

However, if the person has the kindness of heart and the presence of mind to answer 'yes' to both questions, the Kuchisake-Onna will spare them, and will finally be able to rest in peace.

Too bad the Kuchisake-Onna can tell when you're lying…

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Kagome turned over and snuggled into the soft mattress, but winced when she hit a bruise. The pain brought her back to awareness, and her eyes shot open. Where the hell was she?

The first thing she saw was Kirara, curled up and bandaged on the pillow beside her. The poor little cat looked exhausted; she must have lost a lot of blood. It was at a moment like this that Kagome could see just how old the little youkai really was.

Gingerly, the miko sat up, wincing from many bruises. She must have fainted. Being nearly poisoned and tossed onto rooftops probably tended to do that to a person. Her eyes widened as she looked around. The room she was in was not gargantuan in size or elegance, but it was extremely comfortable. This room was made to be slept in. The walls were a cool soothing shade of blue, and a few strategically placed houseplants gave the impression of being in the wilderness. Placed on the dresser beside her was a worn, little, wooden top. Kagome smiled.

"Shippo." She picked up the toy and held it in her slightly trembling hands. She couldn't believe that he was actually still alive. She should have, considering Sesshoumaru and Kirara's emergences from the realm of myth, but such a thing simply did not occur to her. If she kept him out of her mind, she didn't mourn his loss… As much…

She smiled giddily. She was going to go find him and give him gigantic hug… But first thing's first. Where was the bathroom? She gently patted Kirara on the head and got off the bed on shaky legs. There was a door nearby that was either the bathroom or a closet. She moved to find out, not noticing her two shadows till…

"Meep!" Kagome turned around and stared directly into the flames of two hitodama.

Kagome looked at the hitodama. The hitodama looked at Kagome. This went on for roughly about ten minutes.

"Can I… help you?"

The two of them merely flew around her in a circle and stopped right in front of her.

"Ok then… Heh… I need to go to the bathroom now, so… Stay here…" She started towards the door and opened it, only to find that they were still following her. "Hey, I mean it! Stay here. I'll be out in a minute!" She closed the door, and found that the hitodama had slipped in behind her. She could feel an eye tick coming on.

"Stay!"

(Slam)

"Get out!"

(Slam)

"Damnit! I have to go to the bathroom!"

(Slam)

"Cease and desist!"

(Slam)

"Alright. I'll try being polite… Please, stay out here."

(Slam)

"GAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

(Slam)

"Stop it right now!"

(Slam)

"Sit!"

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After trapping the glowing orbs under a vase, Kagome finally managed to do her business and subsequently escape the room. The house was larger than she had thought it was, considering the small size of the room she had been in. It was quite spacious, decorated with all sorts of whimsical art and sculpture. It had to be Shippo's house. The hitodama and his toy top had proven that.

She found it strange though, that she had not seen Sesshoumaru yet. She had half expected him to be lurking outside her door, but he wasn't. She wondered what had happened between him and Shippo after she fainted. Had he just allowed Shippo to take her? Did they fight? Did Shippo understand that they were friends now? So many questions, so little time.

Kagome came to a stairwell, and descended hesitantly. The closer she got to the ground floor, the sweeter the air smelled. What was that? It smelled like…tea… There was hot tea, and something that smelled a bit like…honey? She felt her stomach flip over in glee. Following her nose, she found herself on the threshold of a glistening state-of-the-art, but homey kitchen. In the middle of the kitchen, sat a table, and at the table, sat a kitsune.

Shippo was reading what looked like the culinary section of a newspaper, oval wire-rimed reading glasses perched on the end of his nose, and a mug of steaming tea balanced in one hand. He was dressed in plain clothes, a tan long-sleeved shirt and dark slacks. His hair was up in a ponytail, and his tail rested on the tabletop in a glorified heap. Her little baby was all grown up…

Holy crap…

"Kagome!" His green eyes brightened as he finally noticed her. He set down his tea and met her halfway from the table for a big hug, in which he picked her up and spun her around before depositing her gently back on the floor.

"Dang it! I missed you!" She said.

"I missed you too…" He replied, as he took the glasses off and gave her a heart-shattering smile. It was at that point that she realized just how much her little kit had changed. His features were leaner, no baby-fat in sight. He was actually quite attractive. And tall… How could a kid who had been roughly the size of a melon grow up to be so frikken tall! Maybe it was the pocky…

"I can't believe it's really you! I'd given up hoping that this could happen."

"Not completely I see if your traveling companions are any indication. Where did you find them?"

Kagome smiled. "I didn't find them, they found me. First Sesshoumaru, then Kirara… Speaking of Sesshoumaru, where?"

The kitsune shrugged and smirked slightly as he guided his foster mother to a seat at the table. "He's outside somewhere. I must admit, the last person I'd ever thought to see you with is the ex-Lord of the Western Lands… We had quite discussion after you passed out. A whole lot of nothing important enough for you to know about, that ended in you all coming to my place…" He spread his arms wide. "Mi casa es su casa."

"Where are we? Do you live around Shimoda?"

"Nah. That's just where my restaurant is. There are waaay too many tourists in Shimoda for my tastes."

"Your restaurant?" Kagome blinked and Shippo smiled, picking a tray of sweet-smelling little round cakes off the countertop and presenting them to her.

"Yup. Masshuru-mu is my own creation; the most celebrated center for the confection of desserts and other sweets on the west coast of Japan!" The kitsune smiled sheepishly when he realized he had stood up on the chair when he went off on his tangent and hopped down, offering her the tray again. "It's your fault, you know. If it weren't for the chocolate addiction you gave me I wouldn't have shipped off to France at the first opportunity so I could find the stuff and get my sugar fix…"

Kagome smiled, and stuck her tongue out playfully. Then she reached out a grabbed one of the little cakes, brought it to her mouth, and took a bite.

Heaven.

"Oh my God, Shippo, I love you!" She screeched and latched herself onto the kitsune's waist, tears of unadulterated bliss running down her face. "If you can cook this well you should be thanking me for giving you a sugar addiction!"

A few trays of honey cakes later, intelligent conversation continued. Kagome sat in a chair and Shippo sat on the floor, his head in her lap. The miko played with his hair absently, yet contentedly. Despite the aura of danger that still surrounded the world she had entered, she felt as light as a feather.

"So, if we aren't in Shimoda, then where are we?"

"Kanazawa."

Kagome froze. "Do what! That's on the opposite shore of Japan from where we were!" She looked down at him, her eyes wide, and he smiled at her.

"This is true…"

"But…what? How! Meep?..."

"I have my ways…" He intoned solemnly, trying desperately to keep a serious expression on his face. He soon gave up. "Anyway, seriously… If you ever want to go into town for some reason, you're welcome to use my chauffeur. He stays on call all the time, since he knows how spontaneous I am. He'll drive you anytime. You can go look around if you want to…"

She smiled. "Thanks, Shippo, but I don't know how long I can stay here…" A sliver of pain ran through her, and the kitsune's head slowly rose from her lap and looked her straight in the face, as if sensing it. He didn't blink. He simply stared, and the pain in his eyes mirrored starkly her own; her grip on his hair tightened. His eyes shimmered slightly, and then they closed and he buried his face in her lap again. The time had finally come for the most important question of all…

"Shippo… What… What."

"What happened?"

"Yes."

"I was wondering when we'd get around to that…"

"Tell me."

"You won't like it. Not all of it…"

"Tell me anyway…"

The youkai sighed, did not raise his head, and then began. "Miroku and Sango were fine. You'll be glad to hear that. They got married and had about nine-hundred children and pretty much lived happily ever after. I guess you know about Kirara… Kaede lived for about five more years after you disappeared, and then she died peacefully in her sleep… I stayed with Sango and Miroku for awhile, and trained and explored and stuff. Went to Europe for a bit. Came back. Nothing much to tell…" He trailed off slightly, and then started again. "I'm not quite sure about what happened to Kouga. Last I heard of him was from Hakkaku and Ginta. They were looking for him everywhere after he was supposed to marry Ayame and then got cold feet and disappeared off the face of the planet… I wonder if they ever found him…" The kitsune's eyes were raised to the ceiling, glazed over in nostalgia, lost in the green wilds of Feudal Japan.

"And Inuyasha?"

Green eyes snapped into focus; he was back. His head raised a fraction, so that his hair was the only weight on her lap, and he spoke.

"He didn't go to hell…" It was the first thing he said, and she felt lift an indiscernible weight from her. It was only when her lungs filled with air that she realized she had been holding her breath. Her heart constricted within her chest in anticipation and she waited…

"I think he had been planning on it, but when you disappeared, it changed everything. He went nuts, he panicked. He ran straight to the well, he left Kikyo in the dust, he tried to get back to you, but the well didn't work…" She felt one of Shippo's hands clutch at her clothing, and he suddenly resembled the young tiny kit that he had been. "No one could figure out why you disappeared for the longest time, till Miroku came up with a theory… He said that since you had stayed even though the jewel was completed, something else had been holding you there, in the past. It had to have been the…love that you and Inuyasha shared. When he denied it, when he said he was going to be with Kikyo, there was nothing to hold you to us anymore. So you went back to your own time."

They were silent for some time. Then Kagome asked, "What happened to Inuyasha, after?"

"Nothing. Nothing happened. He didn't go anywhere with Kikyo. He just stayed around waiting. Waiting for you, just in case you came back, and then he died. Old age. Kikyo disappeared soon after. Guess she didn't have anything else to live for, other than hating him…"

She was stunned, yet unaware of it. She could have sat there in the chair forever, and never noticed anyone or anything around her, but then she felt something hard and cold draped into her palm. It startled her out of her trance like nothing else could, and she looked down at it, even though she already knew what it was.

A string of purple-blue beads and ivory teeth. They clinked together with the soft sound of porcelain prayer titles; ancient prayers for the dead. She couldn't stand it anymore.

She stood up so hastily, that the chair scraped against the floor with a hair-raising screech. "I'm sorry, Shippo, I have to go." She bit out the words in a voice she didn't recognize and ran out the door, somehow finding it in a confused haze. He didn't follow her.

She looked around, and saw the garage. Shippo had said that she could use his car anytime she wanted, right? She hardly remembered it, but she busted in, found the driver, and had him bring the limo out. As she opened the back door, and began to get inside, she looked behind her.

She caught Sesshoumaru's gaze almost instantly, and suddenly she was aware that she was crying. He was standing up in the branches of a tree by the door she just come out of, his hair blowing slightly and his face as stoic and flawless as marble. Brown met gold for quite awhile. Then she ducked into the car and was gone…

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Somewhere, at some point, the fact that she was in a limo filtered through.

It seemed like both a dumb and an obvious thing to be noticing at such a time. It seemed ironic, really, in a cosmic sort of way. Sesshoumaru, the great and invincible Lord of the Western Lands had come to her defeated and penniless and Shippo, the once small, a bit cowardly, and weak orphaned kitsune kicked shikigami ass and had his own restaurant and a limo, plus driver. Irony was indeed the gold-eyed monster that bit back at the most inopportune times…

Speaking of time, she was hardly aware of it… It seemed mere agonizing moments instead of the hour it took to get to lovely little city of Kanazawa. She stared out at the world bustling with life around her. Streetlamps sputtered to pale luminous light, and a curious numbness overtook her, a thin barrier of protection from the knowledge that she had just acquired. It would not hold for very long. This she knew, so she had to find a place to be when the dam broke. A place to be apart, away.

And that was when the spires of Kanazawa Castle loomed up before her.

"Stop the car!" She yelled. The limo screeched to a halt, and Kagome was out the door and running before the chauffeur could even turn around to ask her whether he should stay around to pick her up. He stayed and watched the girl running towards the old building as if her life depended on it, before shrugging and driving away.

The ancient castle stood up among the modernity around it like a dog among cats. Luckily for her, it was a public park. She could see the gabled beauty of a traditional, bridged gate in the distance. Ishikawa Gate, the signs said. The night was coming on strong and people were thinning off to go do things elsewhere, not wanting to stay near the castle after dark, knowing the ghosts that stayed around such places. Kagome raced up the stair towards her destination, unheeding of the strange thick fog that seemed to be creeping up out of nowhere…

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Sesshoumaru watched the miko flee with time-wizened eyes, noting that despite the fact that she seemed distraught, she didn't seem to be suffering any ill effects from being unconscious. He shied away from the pain he saw in those huge mortal eyes of hers. Pain was something he recognized, knew and understood far too well. It shouldn't have bothered him, he should have been used to seeing pain, but for some reason seeing that pain in her eyes and knowing why it was there…

"Come down from there." There was that kitsune again. The inu youkai was having some difficulty suppressing the urge to snarl. He avoided looking down at his adversary, and tightened his on a branch near his head, leaving claw marks burned into the bark. "You can't stay up in the tree forever… Besides, you're starting to act like Inuyasha."

That did it. With speed that left a blur of color behind him, the Taiyoukai came down to stand before the smirking redhead, his face a strange mixture of disdain and blank fury. "If you have something to say, then say it."

Shippo frowned. "All is not roses in Kanazawa, if I do say so myself. What I want to know, is why Kagome has been marked by Lord Wakarazuya's assassins, and what the hell going on here!"

"I have already told you." Shippo lashed his tail, scattering leaves in his wake.

"You told me nothing. All I know, is that the youkai voted most likely to grill his own mother with lemon-pepper sauce is currently trying to kill my mother! And for reasons unknown, mind you! I mean, it wouldn't be so bad if she had robbed a bank or something, and it was all over the news, and there were wanted posters everywhere, and there was a reward out, and so all sorts of people were after her head for the money… I mean, at least then I'd know why she's on the Psycho of the East's hit list! But as it is, here I am, standing in the middle of everything with no freaking clue!" Shippo bared his fangs at the end of the tirade, breathing heavily, but not making any move to attack. Tension radiated through the night like echolocation, and Sesshoumaru's instincts were flaring dangerously.

Normally, under any other such circumstances, while being disrespected so, he would not hesitate to lunge forward and put the interloper out of their misery. He was even more tempted to take this route than usual for some reason; it was if the whelp's mere existence rubbed him the wrong way. Different than any feeling of animosity he had ever held for Inuyasha, yet so similar. But he did not attack. There was something about the way the kitsune, obviously furious, stayed perfectly still, save for expression and the occasional twitch of the tail. He was not tense or afraid, and there was no sense of false bravado, either. He simply stood there, letting his feelings be known, giving the youkai lord ample opportunity to try to kill him.

It just didn't smell right. There was more to this Shippo than met the eye. He slightly remembered a ball of orange fluff from back in the Feudal Era, and Kagome had mentioned the little youkai who was like her child, but Sesshoumaru had never seriously considered the possibility that the weak creature could have survived. The kitsune was weak no longer; youki was coming off him in disorienting miniature waves. While he doubted that he was truly any match for him, it would probably do him well to tread carefully. Kitsune were loyal to the death, and any misstep on the subject of Kagome, could prove unhealthy.

"This Sesshoumaru has never had any intention of doing the miko any ill." Shippo raised a tawny brow. "In fact, I am in her debt. She has saved me twice over…"

"Why is Wakarazuya after her?"

"Because she stays with me. Because Wakarazuya saw her power, and saw her wield it in my defense. He cannot afford to have such an enemy."

Sesshoumaru looked off into the woods, as if bored with the conversation. Shippo tilted his head, and perked up like a dog ready to be played with. "Why is she helping you?" He said it softly, carefully, already halfway knowing the answer.

The inu youkai lifted his lip in a miniscule snarl. "How am I supposed to know? That human is utterly maddening. I do not understand her. I do not think I can…"

And Shippo smiled. "That sounds just about like Kagome, alright…" He followed Sesshoumaru's gaze off into that fabled fixed point out in space and uttered softly, "I don't think that anyone can really know Kagome, and not be touched…" He looked back to the fallen lord thoughtfully. "You're different than you used to be… You don't raise my hackles like you used to… I should be outraged that Kagome is traveling with you, but I'm not. Maybe it's just that specter of Inuyasha hanging over me, expecting me to lash out like he would…" He paused. "I am not Inuyasha… And I don't particularly hate you, but you have to realize…that I can't allow you to endanger Kagome anymore…"

Sesshoumaru nodded almost invisibly. "I understand."

Shippo smirked, a huge chunk of his sly nature shining through. He spoke in a tone of voice that was enough to make Sesshoumaru turn and look at him.

"Do you?"

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The hours passed and fireflies began to emerge from their hiding places. Soon the surrounding yard and forest was a mass of neon yellow living stars. The inu and the kitsune sat together, albeit several paces apart, watching the road for any sign of a certain runaway miko. An uneasy truce had fallen between them and for the moment, they were at peace.

"Maybe I shouldn't have told her the way I did…" Shippo mused to the air. Sesshoumaru said nothing, and they continued to sit, waiting.

At least until a certain sound began to permeate the air. It came in soft, insidious at first, indistinguishable from all the other night sounds. But then it grew louder and more obviously apart from all the rest. All other sound abruptly stopped, and the lights of the fireflies went out all at once.

Click.

The youkai slowly stood. Sesshoumaru flexed a claw, and Shippo waved an arm, instantly summoning his hitodama into being.

"That sounds like…"

Click.

"Bone against bone?"

The sound halted, and then a small section of the trees before them blew apart.

"YAA-HAHA!" The eerie broken laughter echoed through the otherwise empty night, as a gigantic pile of glowing-eyed human skulls spilled into the yard before them. Suddenly the air was filled with the chattering sound of skull hitting skull and clicking teeth, not to mention hideous demented ghost giggles.

"Are those a bunch of evil, freaky-eyed skulls laughing manically at us?" Shippo asked a touch of incredulity in his voice.

"Dokuro." Sesshoumaru muttered.

"Dokuro? Aren't those only supposed to haunt people who are all evil and wicked and whatnot?"

"They are likely spies for Wakarazuya."

"You're wicked, aren't you?" Shippo laughed lightly, and Sesshoumaru leapt forward and disintegrated about half of the dokuro pile. The kitsune shrugged. "Guess so…"

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Kagome collapsed and hung over the railing of the gate like someone who was seasick. The teeth on the necklace were cutting into her hand, but she didn't care. Her own body was the furthest thing from her mind.

If she tried hard enough, she could almost convince herself that she was back in the Feudal Era. They were staying at the beautiful castle because Miroku had been producing ominous black clouds again, and in the morning, the hunt for jewel shards would resume. She could almost hear Inuyasha somewhere in the distance complaining that the food wasn't any good, or arguing with Shippo. Almost, but not quite. The past was slowly slipping away from her, at least the one she remembered.

She had always known logically that Inuyasha had to have been dead, either by going to hell or by the ravages of time. But there was something about knowing it, irrefutably and absolutely, holding the prayer beads in her hand, that made it so much worse. Before, there could have always been a kind of hope that he had survived like Sesshoumaru, Kirara, and Shippo, however unlikely that hope might have been. Now it was all gone.

Inuyasha was dead.

He was dead, and there was nothing that she could do.

Then there was always the knowledge of how he had died. That was lovely. She could see him in her mind's eye, sitting by the well, slowly wasting away, Kikyo watching from the distance, timeless beauty framed in white scales.

And yet… And yet, as much as that image made her heart break, and bleed, and cry, there was still a little burn in her chest. It grew, and ate away like acid, pushing her tears out with even more force as the words echoed as they escaped her mouth.

"Damn you, Inuyasha! How could you do this to me!"

Why? Why! She had stood and watched him choose Kikyo, chose death and descent to hell. Her heart had broken then, too. How could he do this? He chose her, but then when the living miko was gone, he had changed his mind. Suddenly, life was worth living again, and for what? To die, slowly, with more suffering than Kikyo ever would have inflicted? She could not accept it, would not accept it, but she knew she had to.

She felt horrible for it, but she was just as upset as she was sad. She was crying tears of sorrow for him, yet she was angry with him for choosing Kikyo and getting them all in such a mess in the first place. She didn't like the weight of the fact that he had waited for her on her conscience. She didn't like the fact that she would be able to yell the word 'sit' anytime she liked without consequence. She didn't like a lot of things. Numbly, she noticed that a few cuts on her hands were bleeding and as soon as she did, the pain finally welled up.

She cried, and she cried. Her whole body wracked with sobs till she felt dizzy from lack of oxygen. The occasional pair of lovers that walked her by whispered to each other in solace, trying to convince themselves that they were apart from such heartbreak. The fog that had been creeping up steadily till then suddenly became much thicker. One could no longer see the others walking in the park. Each person was an island unto itself in a misty sea.

Kagome noticed her a few moments after she ceased crying. A girl who looked just about her own age stood a few feet to her left, leaning against the railing and occasionally stealing a shy glance. She looked very pretty, her hair soft-looking and curly, tied up in an elegant bun atop her head and her eyes nearly lime green in their brightness. It was hard to tell much else though, because she was wearing a surgical mask. Odd. It wasn't cold season…

"You looked very sad." When she spoke, her voice was like silver bells. "I thought you might need someone to talk to, so I came over to see if you were ok."

The miko didn't want to talk to anyone. All she wanted was to be left alone to stew in her own misery. "I'm alright."

"No you're not." Kagome looked over and the girl, and watched as she cautiously inched closer. "You shouldn't keep such feelings bottled up inside. You never know what might happen."

Kagome sighed, and drooped down. "It's just… I found out that someone that I cared about a lot is… That he died."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It isn't as if I didn't know before, but just hearing it…" She clutched the beads like a talisman. The girl blinked at her.

"Those belonged to him?"

"Mm-hmm…"

"Again, I'm sorry. I know what it's like to lose someone you love…"

Kagome started, and jumped when she looked over at her companion, not realizing that the girl had moved to be right beside her.

"I guess I was in love him… But, now I don't think I am. Still hurts, though… And…" She paused, unsure of how to continue.

"And yet, you're mad at him, aren't you?"

Kagome looked at the girl in astonishment, and could only nod. The girl tugged dark clothing around her as if catching a chill, and continued.

"It's weird, how you can love someone so deeply, and yet hate them sometimes. You can love them with all your heart, despite their flaws, because of them, and they'll turn around and do something that hurts you, badly, you know? Its as if they've become blind to all you've done for them and turn into someone else, someone other than whom you fell in love with, and you're torn; torn on whether to keep on loving them as you always have, or hating them because they've hurt you…"

They were standing shoulder to shoulder now, both leaning over the railing watching the swirling mist with twin fascination. "What do you do," Kagome asked quietly, "when that happens?"

"There are lots of things you can do… You can decide to love them, but then there's always the fear that they'll hurt you again. You can decide to hate them, but then there's always the pain of knowing that you're no better than they are for hurting you in the first place. You can also decide just to stay where you are, loving and yet not loving, hating and yet not hating… I do not recommend it… Or, you can always just let go…"

"Let go?" The miko turned her head and found herself captured by stark green pinned down by a stark black pupil.

"Let go. You can decide that the pain and the heartbreak aren't worth it, and then you can move on… And maybe find someone will love you better…" The girl looked away, but not before Kagome saw the tears that glistened there. She felt a pang of compatriot sympathy within her.

"Here…" She said, digging in her pockets and bringing out a slightly mashed tissue. "Don't cry, that's my job." She smiled weakly, knowing that she looked a mess. The girl dabbed her eyes delicately, then asked, hesitantly.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Kagome."

"Well, Kagome, do mind if I ask you a random question?"

"No. Of course not."

The girl sighed audibly, moved one step away, and looked Kagome straight in the eye.

"Do you think that I'm beautiful?"

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"Die, evil cranium-mass scum!"

The last of the dokuro imploded in a spectacular display of fox-fire and all the hitodama danced around in triumph.

Sesshoumaru sighed through his nose and looked heavenward. There was only so much he could put up with. If the kitsune's cheerful hyperness continued, he would be forced to take drastic action. As it was, the probability of acquiring a new kitsune pelt in the near future was rather high.

"Alrighty then!" Shippo grinned. "I wonder when Kagome's going to get back. I'm getting kind of worried about her… Think we should rally a search party?"

Sesshoumaru snorted, and began to glide into the house. "No. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that that girl is fully capable of taking care of herself…"

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Kagome wasn't quite sure what to think. It was such a strange question, especially under such circumstances. Maybe she had poor self esteem or something… It was hard to tell with the mask on, but she certainly appeared to be beautiful.

"Yes." All at once, the temperature dropped, and suddenly she realized how unnatural and out of place the fog was. A shiver went down her spine. The mist thickened and the girl held her head down.

"Is that so…" Her hand went to the ties of her mask, and then the scrap of cloth fell away. Her head still down, she breathed the words. "Do you think that I'm beautiful now?" She raised her head.

Kagome looked, and felt…pity… And something else as well. Before her stood a kindred spirit, just as in pain and wounded as she. The grotesque exaggerated smile didn't matter. She had been shown compassion by this being, and she could do no other than give it back.

"Yes. Yes, I think you're beautiful." Kagome launched herself into the arms of the Kuchisake-Onna, heedless of the danger, and had not long to wait before the embrace was returned. "You have a kind heart. That's what makes you beautiful; it doesn't matter what you look like." She could feel the youkai's tears falling down.

"Thank you, Kagome. You're the first to ever say that."

"You're welcome." They separated. "And thank you..."

"Don't mention it. Anyway, I can let go now. That was all it took… Promise me that you'll try to let go, too, alright?" The Kuchisake-Onna was starting to fade away.

"I promise. I promise that I'll let go. I have to help someone else, anyway…"

"That's the spirit! Goodbye!" The youkai disappeared into thin air, and slowly the fog cleared and was gone.

Kagome stood there for awhile, staring up at the stars as if they were new. She couldn't afford to be so stuck in the past now, she had things to do. Regrets could wait for another day, today, she had Shippo and Kirara and Sesshoumaru… For the moment, they were more than enough… She turned and left the castle. It was time to go back to those she cared about…

A few hours later, Kagome realized that she had no idea where she was, or where Shippo's house was located… The lone cry of a miko echoed over the city of Kanazawa.

"DAMNIT!"

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Alrighty then, read and review! And now, a preview for the next chapter…

Fukai Mori: In which Sesshoumaru reclaims his fluffy thing, Kagome and Kirara join a biker gang, and Shippo sits in a tree and cackles….

Once again R&R!

Tata, JJ


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